The Los Angeles Rams have lost their last two games to the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers by a combined margin of 59-26. The 31-10 win by the 49ers on Monday night was the fifth straight victory in the series by the 49ers over the Rams. It was a game the Rams weren’t really even competitive in as the 49ers seized control early and kept piling on throughout the night.
For a team that has added Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. to their roster over the last two weeks as they try to load up for a run at the Super Bowl, the last two games have served as a sizable punch to the gut.
Rams head coach Sean McVay is disappointed with the way the last two games have gone for his team. However, he believes this is just an inconvenient bump in the road and that they will get things back on track moving forward.
“I think some of them were concentration lapses, guys just not making plays that they’re accustomed to, but certainly it was very uncharacteristic for a lot of guys and it wasn’t just one guy in particular, it was a handful of different guys,” McVay said to reporters of the mistakes against the 49ers. “And so everybody had a hand in this tonight. And that’s where we got to look at ourselves, look inwardly, first and foremost, and then be able to move forward accordingly. Because I choose to believe that these last couple of weeks are not who we are. I refuse to believe that even though you know what, you’re only as good as your last game. These last two weeks have certainly been humbling.”
Matthew Stafford was intercepted on consecutive drives to open the game for the Rams with Jimmie Ward getting both picks along with a 27-yard return for a touchdown that helped give the 49ers an early 14-0 lead. Los Angeles would also have two turnovers on downs as a failed fake punt and failed fourth down conversion late went against them as well.
Defensively, the Rams gave up two straight 90-yard drives to open the game that lasted a combined 29 total plays and resulted in touchdowns for the 49ers.
This performance comes on the heels of the Titans game that saw Stafford intercepted twice with one returned for a touchdown as well and the Rams trailing 28-9 before a late touchdown closed the final margin.
“We’re not playing complimentary football and that’s something that we’ve got to look at,” McVay said. “We’ve got to play better as a team and that’s why we’ve had the results that we have the last couple of weeks.”
The Rams now get the benefit of their bye week to try to assess the damage of the last few weeks and chart a path forward for the rest of the season. They’ll face a stiff test when they return to action in two weeks with a trip to face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.