Rams 10 Takeaways: Identity Crisis Deepens After Inexcusable Loss to Cardinals

The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, 18-16, to fall to 2-4. It’s only been six weeks, but the Rams are already facing an identity crisis. A month and a half into the season, the Rams still don’t know who they are as a team, and that’s evident in the inconsistency of their results.

“We won't win a game unless we figure out how not to beat ourselves,” said head coach Sean McVay. “So many unforced errors, so many things that are not in alignment with what we want to do, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.” 

This isn’t where the Rams had planned to be at the beginning of the season, but it is their current reality. Let’s jump into this week’s 10 takeaways. 

The Rams' Special Teams Are Cursed

For a moment, it appeared as if the Rams had solved their kicking issues. Blake Grupe made his first field goal from 44 yards out and it was right down the middle.On the ensuing kickoff, the Rams’ coverage unit allowed Devin Duvernay to break through, and Grupe went in for the tackle, only to injure his knee. The Rams may need to bring in a Witch or Catholic priest to solve the special teams issues at this point, because they are cursed. McVay didn’t have an update on Grupe after the game, but noted the knee injury. 

Matthew Stafford Is Part of the Problem

This isn’t to say that the Rams need to bench Matthew Stafford. We aren’t at that point yet. However, he does need to be better. Stafford had a -0.14 EPA per pass against the Cardinals. That was worse than Daniel Jones and Tyler Shough in Week 6. It was only slightly better than Cam Ward. In the first three quarters of games this season, Stafford’s 0.07 adjusted EPA per play ranks 17th. However, in the fourth quarter, he ranks seventh at 0.32. Stafford is part of the solution to get the Rams’ offense out of this rut. With that said, right now, he’s also part of the problem. 

Sean McVay's Fourth-Down Decisions Made No Sense

It’s fair to have an issue with both fourth down play calls. With that said, there was at least some logic with the screen on 4th-and-8. A good way to beat a blitz is with a screen. The more inexcusable call was the fullback dive to Davis Allen. Allen had never taken a handoff in his four-year NFL career or in college. When options such as Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua exist in the offense, going with a hand-off to Allen is confusing to say the least. 

Rams Continue to Struggle Tackling in the Secondary

A big reason the Cardinals were able to dictate the tempo of the game was their success running the ball. The Rams didn’t stop the run consistently throughout the game as the defensive backs got run through. Chris Shula likes to operate out of dime, but those lighter packages aren’t working. Poona Ford isn’t as dominant in the middle as he was last year, and the Rams are getting washed away at the second and third levels. If there’s an adjustment to be made on defense, this is it. 

Chris Shula's Defense Isn't the Problem

Aside from special teams, Chris Shula and the defense continue to be the scapegoats for the Rams’ struggles. However, at some point, the offense has to do its part. Had it not been for Shula’s defense, this game wouldn’t have been close. They held the Cardinals to 0-for-5 in the red zone and got stops in the fourth quarter to give the offense a chance. It’s true the Cardinals were able to play ball control as they held the ball for almost 35 minutes. At the same time, if the Rams had scored points against a defense ranked No. 29 in EPA per play and forced the Cardinals to play from behind, Arizona wouldn't have been able to rely on that approach.

Rams Can't Keep Beating Themselves

The Rams continue to have crucial mistakes in big moments. Facing a 4th-and-3, Warren McClendon jumped to make it a 4th-and-8. With the Rams in the red zone, Matthew Stafford stumbled for a loss of 11 before Tyler Higbee fumbled on the next play. The Rams continue to out-gain opponents, but haven’t been able to turn the yards into points consistently. 

“We've had some really critical errors at really unfortunate times,” said McVay. “That's what our narrative has been for this year. We can't keep saying, ‘Oh, that we haven't done that before.’ Well, this year we are doing it.”

Sean McVay Was Out-coached by the Cardinals

For most of the game, Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis had McVay and Stafford in a blender. The Rams’ offense made Rallis look like Vic Fangio coaching the 2018 Chicago Bears. There was certainly an element of execution, but McVay was out-coached by Rallis and Mike LaFleur. McVay gave the Cardinals a chance late because he didn’t drain the clock. There were too many questionable playcalls. If you had said before the game that the Cardinals wouldn’t score a touchdown, nobody would have thought the Rams would lose. 

“There were other instances that we could have made them pay. We just didn't execute, simple as that,” McVay said. “Had an idea of what they were doing. We have to be able to execute in some of those instances and that wasn't the case today.”

An Identity Crisis Is Becoming Impossible to Ignore

Both McVay and Stafford were asked what the identity of this team was after six weeks. “We're figuring it out. I can't answer that right now,” McVay answered. Stafford added, “We are what our record is. We have to try to find a way to be better.” 

The Rams don’t have an offensive identity that they can lean on. Culturally, they are also lacking an identity as they seemingly implode after yet another close loss. The frustration is starting to set in and that’s starting to make its way around the locker room. 

Rock Bottom Has Officially Arrived

It’s hard to say that this isn’t rock bottom for the Rams. That was one of the worst losses of the McVay era. It’s right up there with losing to the 0-13 New York Jets in 2020. Beating the Cardinals under McVay has been about as much of a ‘sure thing’ as it gets. This Cardinals team had essentially waved the white flag, and the Rams gave them life. Instead of sitting at 3-3 and second place in the NFC West, they are 2-4 and in last place. While 2022 was bad, the expectations of this season might make it worse. 

The Path Forward Is Anything but Clear

During his post-game press conference, Sean McVay used the phrase “I’m not really sure” twice and “I can’t answer that right now” one other time. The Rams don’t have answers for how to get out of this. In 2021, Raheem Morris helped McVay recover from “No Win November.” During the 2023 season when the Rams were 3-6, it was Cooper Kupp. There is still an opportunity for the Rams to climb out of this, but there isn’t much reason to be confident that they can.

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