Rams’ Offensive Issues Show Up in Bengals’ Victory
In Week 2, the Los Angeles Rams, who had displayed postseason potential in Week 1, were forced to face reality. However, the Rams’ offensive struggles from 2022 appeared to return in Week 3 under the spotlight of Monday Night Football at Paycor Stadium, which led to a discouraging 19-9 loss.
The Rams had several problems, but one in particular stood out as being extremely troublesome. Due to poor pass protection by Los Angeles, quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked six times for a total loss of 48 yards by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals also put 10 quarterback hits in the record books, with Trey Hendrickson and Dax Hill among the players who helped apply pressure.
Stafford completed 18 of 33 throws for 269 yards, including a last-second score that had little impact on the outcome. His performance reflected the team’s troubles. He improved his record with two interceptions as well. Additionally, the Rams had trouble managing the game’s clock towards the finish since they used almost all of their timeouts trying to prevent delay of game penalties.
Another difficulty for the offence was situational football, as only one of the Rams’ eleven third-down efforts and one of their four chances in the red zone were successful.
Despite their offensive shortcomings, the Rams did have a strong defence, which was well commanded by Aaron Donald. For the majority of the game, they successfully restrained the Bengals’ offence. The Rams’ fifth defeat in their previous seven games was brought on by the fact that their defensive effort finally fell short.
The Rams, who are currently 1-2 after this loss, will travel to Indianapolis to play the 2-1 Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
