Rams vs. Packers: St. Louis Grades, Notes and Quotes
The St. Louis Rams fell to the Green Bay Packers 24-10. The Rams drop to 2-3 , while Packers remain undefeated with a perfect 5-0 record.
Green Bay entered this game as the undisputed favorite, but this was not an impossible game for St. Louis. The Rams fell behind after a number of missed opportunities and mindless errors. As cliche as it sounds, the Rams beat themselves in this game.
The defense had an admirable first-half effort. The unit came up with two picks and held the dangerous Packers offense to seven points. Overall, the St. Louis defense held the Packers to 17 points. Outside of James Jones' 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the defense made few mistakes.
Unfortunately, it was a different story on the offensive side of the ball. The Rams continue to struggle with offensive production.
Two Nick Foles interceptions in the first half, including a pick-six, sent the Rams into halftime trailing. Had it not been for Green Bay's defensive touchdowns, St. Louis would have owned a 10-7 lead at the half.
In the second half, the offense moved the ball, but errors spoiled it all. Foles had two more picks—including one at the 7-yard line—the receivers dropped numerous passes, and Greg Zuerlein missed three field-goals.
It seemed that every time the Rams got into scoring position with a chance to change the momentum, they just imploded.
The fact St. Louis played a competitive game against a top-notch opponent in a hostile environment should provide a silver lining, but that's not enough. Moral victories are meaningless. The Rams are trying to take the next step and become a contender, but as long as the team blows winnable games, that's not going to be possible.
The Rams will now enter their bye week and attempt to refocus. Fortunately, the toughest part of the schedule is now complete, so a 2-3 record is not a terrible position to be in.
As for the Packers, they'll play their fourth home game in six weeks as they host the San Diego Chargers.
Read on for a breakdown of Monday night's game, including position grades, quotes and analysis.
Position Grades for the Rams
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | F |
| RB | A |
| WR | D |
| TE | D |
| OL | C- |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | B- |
| Coaching | C |
Foles was completely overwhelmed in this game. It would be convenient to blame his performance on the supporting cast, but that's not the case. He was far from an asset in this game.
The St. Louis quarterback was an abysmal 11-of-30 on the afternoon (36.6 percent) and coughed up four interceptions. He made poor decisions all day long, and his throws were erratic. Between the turnovers and his sloppy play, Foles was likely the biggest disappointment for the Rams in this game.
The St. Louis receivers did little to help him out. Outside of Stedman Bailey's 68-yard catch, the Packers basically shut down the pass-catchers. They dropped numerous passes and struggled to get open and bail out Foles. Bailey was the only receiver to exceed two catches.
As for the offensive line, the unit had its moments in run blocking, but the pass protection was horrendous. Foles was constantly under pressure, which threw off his whole game and killed the offense.
At running back, the Rams were quite productive. Todd Gurley had 159 yards on the ground, and Tavon Austin had 22 yards on three attempts. The Rams used the offseason to build a strong rushing offense, and it appears that blueprint is finally coming to fruition.
The defensive line and linebackers had an excellent showing. The front seven held the dangerous Eddie Lacy to a mere 27 yards on 13 carries. Robert Quinn had an outstanding game and finished with a sack and a forced fumble. James Laurinaitis was impressive for a second week in a row and came up with a pick.
In the secondary, the Rams had some poor moments but still held their own. Green Bay receiver Jones torched Lamarcus Joyner for a 65-yard touchdown. Then again, Joyner also led the Rams with seven tackles and had a fumble recovery.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson jumped a route and secured a pick—Aaron Rodgers' first interception in 587 home-field pass attempts. The secondary also held Randall Cobb to only 23 yards.
Special teams had their ups and downs but were mostly a disappointment. Cody Davis had a nice stick on the punt-coverage team, and punter Johnny Hekker hit Davis for a 20-yard pass on a fake punt. On the down side, Greg Zuerlein missed three field goals. Two attempts were from doable distances of 50 and 53 yards (the 50-yard kick was partially blocked), but the third miss was a desperate 63-yard attempt.
As for coaching, it's hard to place much blame on Jeff Fisher and the staff. The heavy-run game plan on offense seemed to work, as the Rams moved the ball well at times, and the defense was strong. This Rams lost because of player error—not a lack of coaching.
Todd Gurley Shines Once Again
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In case you thought Gurley's monster showing last week in Arizona was a fluke, this game removed all doubt.
A week ago, Gurley made his first NFL start against the Cardinals and rushed for 146 yards, including 161 total yards from scrimmage. This week, he followed that up with an eye-popping 159 yards on the ground.
With 305 yards in two starts, Gurley is on pace for more than 1,900 yards on the ground in 2015. Of course, it's doubtful he'll maintain that average. Even so, if he finishes with 1,000-plus yards rushing after coming off a knee injury and missing the first three games, it will be nothing short of remarkable.
In just two games, Gurley is already looking like general manager Les Snead's best offensive draft pick with the Rams and likely the best since defensive tackle Aaron Donald in 2014.
In fact, it's hard to find a recent great running back who has exceeded Gurley's early-career production.
Adrian Peterson had 168 rushing yards in his first two starts. Marshawn Lynch had 154. LeSean McCoy had 102. DeMarco Murray had 213. Marshall Faulk had 247. LaDainian Tomlinson had 203. Barry Sanders had 255.
In other words, being so productive early on is a good sign. It's certainly not a guarantee of long-term greatness, but it sure does inspire confidence moving forward.
So long as Gurley's health does not become an issue, he'll quickly be recognized one of the elite NFL backs.
Tavon Austin Continues His Breakout Campaign
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With just 144 receiving yards and 99 rushing yards, Tavon Austin is not dominating at any one position. He's not a top-notch receiver or a No. 1 running back. Instead, he's shredding opponents with a bit of everything.
As a multipurpose weapon on offense and punt returner on special teams, Austin has accumulated five touchdowns in five games this season. He has caught three touchdowns as a receiver and has proved to be a weapon in the red zone because of his shiftiness and speed.
Before Gurley's emergence, Austin was the only dependable producer on offense. He's the only player on the team with more than one touchdown. When he's getting the ball and making plays, the entire St. Louis offense starts rolling.
When it comes to Pro Bowl voting, there's no ballot for flex players who lack a true position. If there was, Austin would be the front-runner, as his 2015 campaign is nothing short of a breakout year.
Moving forward, the Rams must find a way to get Austin more involved at all costs.
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Youth and Lack of Focus Kill St. Louis Again
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With the number of errors in this game, there's really no good excuse for the Rams to be walking away with a loss. This latest implosion is just another example of St. Louis dropping a game due to youth and inexperience.
According to PhillyVoice.com, the average age of the Rams' players is 24.94, which makes St. Louis the youngest team in the NFL. In fact, it's the fourth-straight year the Rams have earned that distinction.
The loss to Green Bay was so ugly because it was winnable. Veteran teams with playoff experience do not choke with such frequency and certainly don't display such horrible examples of incompetence. Between the blown coverage by Joyner, the receivers' inability to get open and the poor protection up front, the Rams had a number of glaring issues that seemed to stem from inexperience.
The Rams need their young linemen to grow up and adjust to NFL-style pass protection. They need young defensive backs to cover the receiver rather than going for the pick. They need the receivers to bust free at critical moments and bail out the quarterback.
Until those things happen, the Rams will continue to drop these tight games.
Luckily, it's still early in the season. There's a chance the young players will adjust and improve as the season progresses. But for now, we'll have to tolerate the mistakes.
The bye week is a perfect opportunity to review game film and give the young players a chance to comprehend their errors. If the Rams can improve mentally, there's still plenty of time to go on a run this season.
Ian Eagle on St. Louis' Missed Opportunities
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"The Rams could not cash in on scoring opportunities," Ian Eagle said on the CBS broadcast.
The most aggravating aspect of this game was the points left on the table. Had the Rams secured those easy points, this would have been a different game, and St. Louis would have exited with the win.
In the fourth quarter, down just 21-10, Gurley broke free for a monster 55-yard gain. Tavon Austin followed that up with a 15-yard run to put St. Louis inside the Green Bay 10-yard line. On third down, Foles forced the ball to Lance Kendricks but was picked off by the Packers.
There were still more than nine minutes on the clock. Even an incompletion and field goal would have turned it into a one-possession game with plenty of time remaining.
Not to mention, Zuerlein had three missed field goals.
His 50-yard attempt was partially blocked. The 53-yard kick was just a plain miss. You can't blame Zuerlein for missing the 63-yard attempt, but it would have been a doable 55-yard attempt if not for the line allowing an eight-yard sack.
Those missed opportunities killed the Rams. Had St. Louis scored those points, this would have been a completely different football game.
Jim Thomas on the Rams' Communication Issues
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"Rams had some intermittent problems with headsets which led to delay of games," wrote Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Twitter.
The Rams were flagged for two delay-of-game penalties in the first half. It nearly happened three times, but St. Louis manage to avoid the third penalty by burning a timeout.
One would think the crowd noise and hostile Lambeau Field environment were the primary culprits. However, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the issue was actually a result of malfunctioning headsets.
It's unclear if the headset issues had any other negative effects other than delaying the play calls, but it's a possibility.
The broadcast team didn't mention the issue during the contest, but in hindsight it's a good explanation for the first-half penalties by the Rams.
Jim Thomas on Green Bay's Pass Rush
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"(Left tackle) Greg Robinson says stunts and twists caused problems for Rams pass protection," Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote on Twitter.
The Rams have one of the best pass rushes in the NFL, but it was the Green Bay defense that harassed Foles all afternoon.
The Packers finished with three sacks and were constantly in the backfield. Foles took numerous hits, and the intense pressure likely caused his four interceptions. The Rams are lucky he was able to escape the game healthy and intact.
According to Thomas, Rams blindside tackle Greg Robinson blames the poor protection on Green Bay's stunts and twists.
Green Bay was smart enough to capitalize on St. Louis' young and inexperienced line. By mixing things up with complicated moves and blitzes, the Packers were able to confuse the Rams' line and cause problems.
The Rams have two rookies and three first-year starters on the line. Robinson is only a second-year player and was considered green coming out of college. Additionally, backup Garrett Reynolds had to enter the game midway through to replace Rodger Saffold.
Between the three first-year starters, Robinson and Reynolds, the Rams were simply not equipped for Green Bay's game plan.
The Rams will have to review tape, make adjustments and ensure that future opponents don't attempt a similar strategy.
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