3 Takeaways from Rams' Week 10 Loss

The bye week could not have come at a better time for the Los Angeles Rams. 

Sean McVay's team suffered its second straight loss in deflating fashion on Monday, as it fell 31-10 to the San Francisco 49ers. 

The Rams were almost doomed from the start. Two early Matthew Stafford interceptions, a handful of dropped passes and the inability to stop San Francisco's rushing attack hurt them throughout the night. 

Los Angeles has been outscored 59-26 in the last two weeks against the Tennessee Titans and the 49ers. 

They need the bye week to make some needed adjustments and get Odell Beckham Jr. up to speed in the offense before the Week 12 clash with the Green Bay Packers, which could play a massive role in playoff seeding. 

As for now, the Rams are still second in the NFC West, and they did not lose any ground on the Arizona Cardinals, but if they are not at their best for the rest of the season, the divisional crown could be out of reach. 

49ers Have Sean McVay's Number

Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press

The 49ers have five straight wins over the Rams dating back to the start of the 2019 season. 

In each of those games, the 49ers have found ways to unlock the Rams defense and put up high offensive totals. 

On Monday night, the 49ers enforced their will from the opening drive. They used an 18-play, 93-yard drive over 11 minutes and three seconds to score their first touchdown.

San Francisco finished with 156 rushing yards, which was the second highest ground concession of the season for the Rams defense. 

The 49ers have scored at least 20 points in each of their last five meetings with the Rams, and they ran for over 100 yards in four of those five games. They ran for 99 yards in the other. 

Kyle Shanahan's offensive scheme has become McVay's kryptonite, and if other teams copy the game plan correctly, the Rams could be taken out earlier than expected in the postseason. 

The Arizona Cardinals employed a ground-heavy offensive strategy in Week 4 and gained 216 yards rushing. 

During the bye week, McVay and his defensive assistants need to find a better way to approach run-heavy systems so they do not get gashed on the defensive side of the ball again. 

Drops Killed Passing Game

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

The Los Angeles passing game was plagued by drops all night. 

The most troubling dropped pass came from Van Jefferson in the left corner of the end zone in the second half. 

Jefferson appeared to track the ball perfectly, but he was then distracted by the movements of a leaping defensive back and failed to haul in the catch. 

ESPN's Lindsey Thiry pointed out that the five drops committed by the Rams on Monday marked their highest total since 2013. 

Jefferson was not the only player at fault. Tyler Higbee failed to produce a catch on the Rams' second drive that led to Jimmie Ward's interception return for a touchdown. 

Los Angeles has to hope that its worst performances are now out of the way because if it performs like this on the postseason stage it will be swiftly eliminated. 

Bye Week Comes at Perfect Time to Let Odell Beckham Jr. Adjust to Offense

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

The Rams' Week 11 bye comes at the perfect time for many reasons, but one of the top ones is to get Beckham acclimated with the offense. 

When the Rams signed Beckham on Friday, they could not have imagined the news would be followed immediately by Robert Woods' ACL tear. 

If Woods and Beckham were on the field together Monday, the Rams would have been able to create more space on certain routes for the former Cleveland Browns wideout. 

Instead, Stafford was stuck in a difficult spot with a ton of attention on Cooper Kupp and plenty of drops to go around. 

Beckham was on the field for 15 snaps, and he was not active much in the second half when the Rams got into their hurry-up offense. 

Beckham should use the week off to build more chemistry with Stafford and familiarize himself with McVay's system.

If everything goes well in the next week, the Rams could look like a dominant team again when they face off with the Packers in Week 12. 

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.