Los Angeles Rams’ loss in Week 5 shifts perspective downward at 3-2

The Los Angeles Rams lost in Week 5 to the Seattle Seahawks, 29-30.

So as we take stock of things for the betterment of our perspective, let’s do so without allowing the missed kick to alter our perception of the performance. Had K Greg Zuerlein made the kick, it wouldn’t have made the performance of QB Jared Goff better, per se. Missing the kick doesn’t mean the defense did something worse.

The Rams did everything they needed to in order to get in position to win the game.

Don’t let a couple of inches change your perspective.

Injuries

The only major issue last night seemed to be WR Brandin Cooks’ concussion when he the field hard in the fourth quarter.

The Rams did have to adjust to injuries taking ILB Bryce Hager and S Taylor Rapp out of this one, but I thought ILB Troy Reeder and S Marqui Christian filled in quite well.

Having played on Thursday, the Rams have some extra time for rest over the next nine days before what is now an incredibly vital Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers in the Coliseum.

Since the first injury report isn’t until Wednesday, hopefully we’ll look healthy heading in.

Performance Issues

I thought last night was QB Jared Goff’s best game in 2019. He navigated the pocket extremely well. He missed very few throws, and the interception wasn’t at all on him.

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay has lamented several times following games in which RB Todd Gurley doesn’t carry the ball often that he needs to “find a way to get him the ball.” After assigning him just five carries against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, McVay somehow found a way to get him the ball! It wasn’t a response to the score either. Remember that against the Buccaneers that before going down 0-21, the Rams had 17 plays: 14 passes, two runs with RB Malcolm Brown and one gut sweep to WR Cooper Kupp. Last night, the Rams ran 12 plays in their first two drives. Six of them were handoffs to Gurley.

Last night sure seemed like another piece of evidence that TE Gerald Everett needs to be more consistently involved in the passing game...

Defensively, it was a bit of a unique challenge going up against QB Russell Wilson. He might be playing the best football of any QB in the NFL in 2019. He has now thrown 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. So it’s a tall order to deal with both his elusiveness and his pinpoint accuracy like we saw on the pass to WR Tyler Lockett . The touchdown pass to WR DK Metcalf? Yeah, that wasn’t on Wilson...

The Rams didn’t do a good job in the trenches against the run even after RG D.J. Fluker left with a hamstring injury. They’ll need to rebound next week to help control the flow of the game better.

Overall, I didn’t think either side did too badly. The Rams were in position to top 30 points with the kick at the end, and they dealt pretty gamely with one of the league’s best QBs on a night where they struggled to contain the point of attack against the run. The Seahawks had 11 possessions and scored on less than half of them.

Standings

The initial three-game stretch to open the season was a crucial opportunity for the Rams to build up a buffer against some tough competition. They did just that going 3-0. Now, we get to see why that buffer was indeed that crucial: it has protected the Rams from nosediving amid a two-game losing streak. As Joey said this morning, we don’t need to panic just yet. We’ll have to see what the Niners do on Monday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns, but the Rams are still in the thick of the divisional race.

That being said...Week 6 is a flashpoint. If the Rams lose at home to San Fran to fall to .500? Yeah, then panic is fair. But let’s save that energy for a week.

We’re a bit out in front of this since it’s Thursday (the Detroit Lions have a bye, so they’ll remain ahead of us in the standings headed into Week 6 despite one less win...), but the Rams are now in the middle of the NFC pack. Some veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting games this weekend loom. Let’s see how things shake out and revisit this on Tuesday.