OCRegister: Rams and Goff Continue to Struggle in Defeat to Philadelphia
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Rams and Jared Goff continue to struggle in home defeat to Philadelphia Eagles
By Rich Hammond | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: December 16, 2018 at 8:59 pm | UPDATED: December 16, 2018 at 10:57 pm
LOS ANGELES – That magical night against Kansas City is one that Rams fans will never forget, which is good, because it’s starting to feel more like a period than a comma, particularly for quarterback Jared Goff.
The Rams, right now, are broken. The level of external panic will be elevated beyond necessity, because poor play is now a trend, not a blip. The Rams can be fixed, and they have enough time to do it, but there’s a lot of work to be down after their mostly dismal 30-23 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday at the Coliseum.
The Rams (11-3) have lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time in two seasons under Coach Sean McVay and almost certainly have lost their chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with two games remaining. Their best hope now is a 2-0 finish and a first-round bye.
“We’ve got to be able to figure this out, and figure it out fast,” McVay said, “because these last couple weeks, we’re doing things that are totally uncharacteristic of what good football teams do, what we’ve done.”
Philadelphia (7-7), which came in as a 13-point underdog and broke open a game that was tied 13-13 at halftime with 17 consecutive points, as Goff threw a terrible second-half interception that caused the game to snowball against the Rams for a while.
The Rams scrambled back late and pulled within a touchdown on Todd Gurley’s 1-yard scoring run with 4:06 to play. The Rams’ defense held Philadelphia to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but JoJo Natson flat-out dropped the ball on a punt return and the Eagles took over at the Rams’ 36.
“Fluke play. I tried to switch the ball and it came out. Fluke play,” Natson said. “I’m just trying to make a play for the team. You know what I’m saying?”
Again, the Rams’ defense stiffened, and Goff and the offense got one more chance after the Eagles missed a 53-yard field goal attempt. The Rams took over with 1:08 to play and no timeouts, and Goff quickly got them down to the Eagles’ 18 yard-line. But his pass intended in the end zone for Josh Reynolds sailed high and incomplete on the game’s final play.
But until those two last-ditch drives, the Rams were clearly out of sync, especially on offense. During one stretch, the Rams went eight consecutive possessions without a touchdown.
“We’ve got two weeks until the playoffs,” Goff said, “so we’ve got two weeks to figure it out. I don’t think it’s much. It’s little things here and there. I need to do a better job and we need to do a better job across the board.”
Where even to begin? The Rams followed that breathtaking victory over the Chiefs last month with a bye, and they’ve been bye-bye ever since, certainly on offense and with mixed results on defense.
Goff, beset by more porous offensive-line play that he’s become accustomed to since the start of 2017, looks lost — particularly when pressured — and the receivers, who not long ago dazzled with zig-zag routes all over the field, now look pretty basic. Gurley, who returned from a mid-game knee injury Sunday, no longer is dominating games.
Gurley led the Rams with 76 receiving yards (on 10 catches) and had two rushing touchdowns but ran for only 48 yards on 12 carries. Gurley returned to the game after he sat out of a couples series in the third quarter, but McVay said after the game that Gurley would have his knee “checked out.”
“I returned, so I was fine,” Gurley said.
Perhaps this is some prolonged rope-a-dope by the Rams, since they’ve already clinched the NFC West and can secure a first-round playoff bye by winning season-ending games vs. Arizona and San Francisco. Yet it sure doesn’t feel that way for a team that seems to have lost its way, and that starts with Goff.
Since the bye, Goff has looked more like the tentative, battered 2016 rookie than last year’s All-Pro player and the MVP candidate of this season’s first two-plus months. Goff completed 35 of 54 attempts for 239 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, one week after an awful showing against Chicago.
“We’ve all got to be better,” McVay said when asked about Goff. “He’s got to make some better decisions. … He’s trying to make plays. We learn from all our mistakes, and that’s players and coaches alike, but there’s certainly some things that we can look at and we’ve got to be better. Everybody.”
Too often, an uncomfortable-looking Goff either threw off his back foot, looked like he was expecting to be sacked, or both. An offensive line that has allowed too much pressure to come up the middle certainly carries some responsibility, but for a third consecutive week, the Rams looked out of sorts on offense.
The worst moment came late in the third quarter, when Goff had his foot stepped on by center John Sullivan, then attempted an ill-advised, off-balance heave that was intercepted. The Eagles scored two plays later to take a 30-13 lead.
The Rams actually led the Eagles 7-3 at the end of the first quarter Sunday. Then they failed to score a touchdown for the rest of the game, and their defense didn’t look particularly impressive either.
For much of the game, the Eagles – with backup quarterback Nick Foles in for Carson Wentz – carved the Rams’ defense with off-tackle runs and deep balls to wide-open receivers. Foles, last season’s Super Bowl MVP, looked like a calm veteran in his first start since September and, after the game was tied 13-13 at halftime, the Eagles scored 17 consecutive points.
“I think we’re in a slump right now, but it’s been worse over here,” guard Rodger Saffold said. “Around this time last year, we had four or five losses. That’s something to think about. At the end of the day, everything is right in front of us and we still control our own destiny. We still have the playoff picture in mind.”
The Rams generated some hope late in the first quarter when they actually scored a touchdown. They’d gone 14 consecutive possessions without one, and it seemed they’d found a flow with a Gurley-led attack.
Not so much. Gurley had seven carries and three receptions on the Rams’ first two drives, compared to a total of 14 touches last week, and the Rams held the ball for 8:55 in the first quarter, but it didn’t last.
The Rams led 7-3 after Gurley’s 9-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the first quarter, and then 7-6 after a nice red-zone stand by the defense. The Rams then marched to the Eagles’ 14, but on first down, instead of giving the ball to Gurley, McVay called a pass play and the Rams were called for pass interference.
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After that, Goff took a sack, the Rams went nowhere and they settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead. The Eagles took the lead at 13-10 with a touchdown on their next possession, and the Rams tied the game with a field goal as time expired at the end of the first half.
Those looking for a bounce-back game from Goff, who threw four interceptions a week earlier at Chicago, were left waiting. Goff did join Jim Everett, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger as the only Rams quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season, but Goff rarely looked comfortable in the pocket.
Perhaps it’s the pass rush, as teams increasingly seem to be getting interior pressure against the Rams’ line. Perhaps it’s the loss of receiver Cooper Kupp to a knee injury, because since he went out, Goff hasn’t seemed entirely comfortable with any target except Robert Woods and hasn’t shown much chemistry with Josh Reynolds. Perhaps it’s just good defense and some malaise after the Rams clinched a playoff spot.
“That’s just part of the NFL,” Gurley said. “You’re going to have your ups, you’re going to have your downs. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt and just move on. No one is going to have a great career, every game, every year. He will respond like he always does and he will lead us to win next week.”
[www.ocregister.com]
By Rich Hammond | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: December 16, 2018 at 8:59 pm | UPDATED: December 16, 2018 at 10:57 pm
LOS ANGELES – That magical night against Kansas City is one that Rams fans will never forget, which is good, because it’s starting to feel more like a period than a comma, particularly for quarterback Jared Goff.
The Rams, right now, are broken. The level of external panic will be elevated beyond necessity, because poor play is now a trend, not a blip. The Rams can be fixed, and they have enough time to do it, but there’s a lot of work to be down after their mostly dismal 30-23 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday at the Coliseum.
The Rams (11-3) have lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time in two seasons under Coach Sean McVay and almost certainly have lost their chance to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with two games remaining. Their best hope now is a 2-0 finish and a first-round bye.
“We’ve got to be able to figure this out, and figure it out fast,” McVay said, “because these last couple weeks, we’re doing things that are totally uncharacteristic of what good football teams do, what we’ve done.”
Philadelphia (7-7), which came in as a 13-point underdog and broke open a game that was tied 13-13 at halftime with 17 consecutive points, as Goff threw a terrible second-half interception that caused the game to snowball against the Rams for a while.
The Rams scrambled back late and pulled within a touchdown on Todd Gurley’s 1-yard scoring run with 4:06 to play. The Rams’ defense held Philadelphia to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but JoJo Natson flat-out dropped the ball on a punt return and the Eagles took over at the Rams’ 36.
“Fluke play. I tried to switch the ball and it came out. Fluke play,” Natson said. “I’m just trying to make a play for the team. You know what I’m saying?”
Again, the Rams’ defense stiffened, and Goff and the offense got one more chance after the Eagles missed a 53-yard field goal attempt. The Rams took over with 1:08 to play and no timeouts, and Goff quickly got them down to the Eagles’ 18 yard-line. But his pass intended in the end zone for Josh Reynolds sailed high and incomplete on the game’s final play.
But until those two last-ditch drives, the Rams were clearly out of sync, especially on offense. During one stretch, the Rams went eight consecutive possessions without a touchdown.
“We’ve got two weeks until the playoffs,” Goff said, “so we’ve got two weeks to figure it out. I don’t think it’s much. It’s little things here and there. I need to do a better job and we need to do a better job across the board.”
Where even to begin? The Rams followed that breathtaking victory over the Chiefs last month with a bye, and they’ve been bye-bye ever since, certainly on offense and with mixed results on defense.
Goff, beset by more porous offensive-line play that he’s become accustomed to since the start of 2017, looks lost — particularly when pressured — and the receivers, who not long ago dazzled with zig-zag routes all over the field, now look pretty basic. Gurley, who returned from a mid-game knee injury Sunday, no longer is dominating games.
Gurley led the Rams with 76 receiving yards (on 10 catches) and had two rushing touchdowns but ran for only 48 yards on 12 carries. Gurley returned to the game after he sat out of a couples series in the third quarter, but McVay said after the game that Gurley would have his knee “checked out.”
“I returned, so I was fine,” Gurley said.
Perhaps this is some prolonged rope-a-dope by the Rams, since they’ve already clinched the NFC West and can secure a first-round playoff bye by winning season-ending games vs. Arizona and San Francisco. Yet it sure doesn’t feel that way for a team that seems to have lost its way, and that starts with Goff.
Since the bye, Goff has looked more like the tentative, battered 2016 rookie than last year’s All-Pro player and the MVP candidate of this season’s first two-plus months. Goff completed 35 of 54 attempts for 239 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, one week after an awful showing against Chicago.
“We’ve all got to be better,” McVay said when asked about Goff. “He’s got to make some better decisions. … He’s trying to make plays. We learn from all our mistakes, and that’s players and coaches alike, but there’s certainly some things that we can look at and we’ve got to be better. Everybody.”
Too often, an uncomfortable-looking Goff either threw off his back foot, looked like he was expecting to be sacked, or both. An offensive line that has allowed too much pressure to come up the middle certainly carries some responsibility, but for a third consecutive week, the Rams looked out of sorts on offense.
The worst moment came late in the third quarter, when Goff had his foot stepped on by center John Sullivan, then attempted an ill-advised, off-balance heave that was intercepted. The Eagles scored two plays later to take a 30-13 lead.
The Rams actually led the Eagles 7-3 at the end of the first quarter Sunday. Then they failed to score a touchdown for the rest of the game, and their defense didn’t look particularly impressive either.
For much of the game, the Eagles – with backup quarterback Nick Foles in for Carson Wentz – carved the Rams’ defense with off-tackle runs and deep balls to wide-open receivers. Foles, last season’s Super Bowl MVP, looked like a calm veteran in his first start since September and, after the game was tied 13-13 at halftime, the Eagles scored 17 consecutive points.
“I think we’re in a slump right now, but it’s been worse over here,” guard Rodger Saffold said. “Around this time last year, we had four or five losses. That’s something to think about. At the end of the day, everything is right in front of us and we still control our own destiny. We still have the playoff picture in mind.”
The Rams generated some hope late in the first quarter when they actually scored a touchdown. They’d gone 14 consecutive possessions without one, and it seemed they’d found a flow with a Gurley-led attack.
Not so much. Gurley had seven carries and three receptions on the Rams’ first two drives, compared to a total of 14 touches last week, and the Rams held the ball for 8:55 in the first quarter, but it didn’t last.
The Rams led 7-3 after Gurley’s 9-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the first quarter, and then 7-6 after a nice red-zone stand by the defense. The Rams then marched to the Eagles’ 14, but on first down, instead of giving the ball to Gurley, McVay called a pass play and the Rams were called for pass interference.
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After that, Goff took a sack, the Rams went nowhere and they settled for a field goal and a 10-6 lead. The Eagles took the lead at 13-10 with a touchdown on their next possession, and the Rams tied the game with a field goal as time expired at the end of the first half.
Those looking for a bounce-back game from Goff, who threw four interceptions a week earlier at Chicago, were left waiting. Goff did join Jim Everett, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger as the only Rams quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season, but Goff rarely looked comfortable in the pocket.
Perhaps it’s the pass rush, as teams increasingly seem to be getting interior pressure against the Rams’ line. Perhaps it’s the loss of receiver Cooper Kupp to a knee injury, because since he went out, Goff hasn’t seemed entirely comfortable with any target except Robert Woods and hasn’t shown much chemistry with Josh Reynolds. Perhaps it’s just good defense and some malaise after the Rams clinched a playoff spot.
“That’s just part of the NFL,” Gurley said. “You’re going to have your ups, you’re going to have your downs. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt and just move on. No one is going to have a great career, every game, every year. He will respond like he always does and he will lead us to win next week.”
[www.ocregister.com]
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