Rams observations: Takeaways from another ugly loss to 49ers

How was this even worse than week 4?!

It’s so nice to see the Rams made great use of their bye week (insert angry eye roll emoji).

Also great to see the home fans showed up Sunday too.

SIGH

Another year, another sweep at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. Following a painful loss that was somehow even worse than the week four matchup, LA falls below .500 yet again against a team they’ve only beaten once since 2018.

I’m gradually losing the will to live along with rethinking my career choices just watching these Rams so let’s look at three things I think about this godawful team.

There has to be a cure to the contagious second-half bug…right? RIGHT?!

When the Rams headed into the locker room, they held a 14-10 lead over their bitter Californian rivals. Stafford wasn’t sacked or hit and played like his old self. Life was good.

LA must’ve forgotten there’s another half to play and it showed in painful ways.

Before the bye week, the Rams had been outscored by 37 points in the fourth quarter. Sunday, they were outscored 14-0 in the final quarter and 21-0 in the entire second-half.

There is zero reason to have collapsed this hard but this is the same dang thing every week. It ultimately doesn’t matter how much talent this team has if they can’t close out games in crunch time.

The offense has been the sole culprit for these breakdowns. Before you even start whining “what about the defense?”, let me stop you there. A defense can only do so much with a stagnant offense and McVay hasn’t figured that out yet following the bye.

Avoid the splashiest move at the deadline

Les Snead is looking down upon his creation, thinking a blockbuster move is what will cure their ills. Boy would he be wrong.

Last season at the deadline, Snead traded for future Hall of Famer Von Miller in a win-now move that clinched the Lombardi for the Rams.

This year? Forget about it.

LA has glaring holes that one league-altering move won’t fix. The Rams need improvements at RB, WR and O-line, edge too as Aaron Donald could always use a helping hand.

All I’m saying is that one little band-aid is not going to stop this dam from bursting. Snead has to be smart and calculated in making a move. This is no time to be reckless. I see you in your box salivating over the chance to acquire Bradley Chubb.

As great as it would be to have a player like Chubb, someone like Kareem Hunt or any healthy offensive lineman with a pulse should be the move here. Not that I should be telling a Super Bowl-winning GM what to do, but please resist the urge to pull the trigger on the next biggest trade to plunge the NFL into further chaos.

Even he has to see this isn’t the same as 2021.

There’s still (incredibly slim) hope for the defending champs

I know, I know, it might be hard to believe this right now with the wound so fresh.

Halfway through the season, the Los Angeles Rams obviously haven’t shown they have the makings of a group that deserves to make the playoffs. However, I can see LA being able to get over the hump with the schedule they have ahead.

Going into this season, most everyone in Hollywood had the highest of expectations for the Rams. I fully expected they would be the class of the NFC with all the uncertainty surrounding the conference. Of course I said similar things about the Bucs and look where that got me.

It’s hard to still believe in this team but I still have faint (possibly blind) hope they can get their act together sooner rather than later. LA has yet to find an identity on offense and play a complete game in all phases. The best teams always figure out a way and unfortunately that has not been the Rams in 2022.

I won’t go as far to say they’ll miss the playoffs but I’ll admit those thoughts are gradually creeping into my head.

The Rams do have opportunities against similarly struggling teams on their remaining schedule. Tampa Bay is obviously a must-win next week. LA also has the Cardinals, Packers, Broncos, and the Raiders on the docket. These are all winnable games.

Not to mention the iffy Saints and Chargers ahead as well. The toughest games remaining include a visit to Kansas City and the two divisional matchups with Seattle (who would’ve thought?)

If LA can’t win at least six-to-seven of their remaining 10 games, they don’t deserve to get near the postseason. I think that’s a fair deal as nine wins will be good enough in this weak NFC.

Time is clearly running out on the Rams and they had better figure it out in a hurry.