Five Takeaways from Rams 27-20 Loss to Washington

Five Takeaways from Rams 27-20 Loss to Washington

Myles Simmons

Los Angeles tied Sunday’s matchup midway through the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback, as Washington used a 10-play drive to drain the clock and score a game-winning touchdown. With a short turnaround before playing San Francisco for Thursday Night Football, L.A. has much to correct. But there were also some encouraging aspects to Sunday’s game.

With that in mind, here are five takeaways from Week 2.

1) Run defense must improve

Washington rushed for 229 yards on Sunday, receiving significant production from three different running backs. Starter Rob Kelley recorded 78 yards on 12 carries before exiting the game with an injury to his ribs. Chris Thompson and Samaje Perine picked up where Kelley left off, rushing for 77 and 67 yards, respectively.

“It’s frustrating to lose period and it was definitely frustrating giving up that amount of yards in the run game,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “And when you don’t stop the run, you leave yourself open for a lot of stuff. They executed really well and credit to them for coming in with a good game plan and doing the right things.”


“We’ve got to watch the film, but just got to play better on the run and when run situations come, you’ve got to win your one-on-ones and get off the field,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. “That’s what we need to do.”

Overall, Washington averaged 5.9 yards per rushing attempt, with three plays of at least 19 yards.

“I haven’t seen the film yet, so I’ll have to go and watch it and see,” Ogletree said, “but I feel like we just weren’t physical enough at stopping the run and we didn't do our job today.”

Physicality could be one factor, but it’s likely not the only one. This is an area in which the Rams must improve going forward, especially considering their next opponent.

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