What's Wrong With the Rams? Champs Drop Second Straight in Loss to Cowboys
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The Los Angeles Rams are officially in trouble.
On Sunday afternoon, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium, hoping to get back in the win column after an embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.
Unfortunately for the Rams, it wasn't to be, as they dropped their second-consecutive game in the 22-10 loss, and moved to 2-3 for the season.
Unsurprisingly, the issues for the Rams were familiar ones.
For the fourth time this season, the Rams have been held to 12 points or less, setting a disturbing trend for a team that in 2021, ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in both scoring and total yards per game.
Coming into Sunday, the Rams ranked in the bottom six in both of those categories, and their performance against Dallas will not improve that standing.
Many of those struggles can be attributed to the lack of offensive line depth, where Los Angeles has been decimated due to injury.
However, the problem now appears to be something more.
Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and to a lesser degree Tyler Higbee, have been the lone constants in the offense.
On Sunday, that was once again the case, with Stafford completing 28 of 42 passes for 308 yards and one touchdown, with one interception, with Kupp and Higbee for 14 of those completions on 20 targets for 171 yards and a touchdown.
However, Stafford also got sacked seven times, and took 11 hits, looking by the end of the game that he has perhaps taken one too many shots.
But outside of those three players, not much was clicking for the Rams' offense.
Robert Woods, Odell Beckham Jr. and Andrew Whitworth are all gone, and odds are none of them are coming back. In the case of Beckham, perhaps by November. But the Rams will not be unchallenged in the pursuit of his talent.
So the Rams now have one choice, they will have to go out and try and find a way to improve their offense, both along the front and at the skill positions.
If they don't the defending Super Bowl champs will have to be more worried about their chances of making the playoffs, rather than defending their title.
Los Angeles will have their next chance to right the ship against a struggling Carolina Panthers team at SoFi Stadium next week.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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