The Los Angeles Rams fell to the Chicago Bears in Week 4 of the NFL season to fall to 1-3. While last week was one of the more impressive wins in the Sean McVay era, Sunday may have been one of the more frustrating. Here are 10 takeaways from the loss.
1. Rams defense came out with good energy
The defense seemed to actually come out with good energy and carried some of the momentum that they picked up at the end of the game last week. Quentin Lake had a good tackle in space to force a punt on the opening drive. That energy carried throughout much of the first quarter.
However, when it comes to this defense, they don’t have the talent or experience to schematically compete with most offenses in the NFL. For them to beat teams, they’ll need to outplay them and come with that energy for four quarters. Right now, this defense lacks experience and leadership to consistently bring that. By the time the second half came along, the Bears started to wear down the defense.
2. Red zone issues continue to linger on both sides
When it comes the issues in the red zone for the Rams, it seems like it’s the offense that’s under the magnifying glass. This isn’t to say that it shouldn’t be. The offense hasn’t been good in that area of the field and it’s costing them games. They were 2-for-5 in the red zone in Week 1 and just 1-for-4 in the red area against the Bears. Right now, it’s not good enough. It is worth noting that without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the Rams are without two receivers that Matthew Stafford can trust in that area. However, the red zone operation needs to be better all around.
With all of that being said, it has not been good enough on the defensive side of the ball either. Since the overtime touchdown against the Lions, the Rams defense has allowed a touchdown on six of their last eight red zone possessions. It’s a bad combination when your offense can’t score touchdowns in the red zone while the defense can’t keep opposing teams out of it.
3. It’s the veterans that are letting Rams down in big moments
Coming into the season, the Rams were a young in key areas. That included on the defensive line. Due to injury, young players like Beaux Limmer and Logan Bruss have had to step up. Those young players are going to have their mental lapses and mistakes. With that said, it is the veteran players letting the Rams down right now.
The Rams opted for more experience in the secondary this season. Multiple times, Tre White got flagged on third down. On 3rd-and-9 from the 15, White was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone. That play led to a touchdown. Troy Reeder wears the green dot in the defense. He has not been the presence in the middle of the defense that the Rams have needed. The Rams aren’t playing Blake Corum presumably for pass protection reasons. Kyren Williams missed a block that led to Stafford’s fumble. Kevin Dotson gave up a sack that killed the opening drive. These are all players that the Rams need more from on a down-to-down basis.
4. Wide receivers have stepped up, but Nacua and Kupp are missed
There is something to be said about how TuTu Atwell and Jordan Whittington have stepped up over the last two weeks. Still, the Rams miss Nacua and Kupp. There have been a few plays where Whittington saw one coverage and Stafford saw another, leading to an incomplete pass. Tyler Johnson hasn’t been as good as the Rams have needed him to be.
While the back-shoulder fade needs to be banished from the McVay’s playbook, it is something that’s been successful with Kupp. These are players that have come up big for the Rams offense and what they do can’t necessarily be replicated. Their presence has been missed over the last two weeks.
5. Sacks don’t tell full story, but Jared Verse dominated
This is a case where multiple things can be true at the same time. The missed tackles are frustrating, but if that’s all we’re focusing on, we’re missing a great player develop right before our eyes. Four games into Verse’s career and he seems to get better almost every week. At some point, the game will slow down for him.
Verse had two sacks taken away due to penalties. NFL Next Gen stats credited him with five pressures, four of which came in under 2.5 seconds which were the quickest pressures in a game by a rookie this season. He had a pressure rate of 31.3 percent in Week 4 which trailed only Josh Allen and Myles Garrett. Verse dominated this game and once he cleans up the mistakes,
6. Deficiencies at linebacker becoming more evident
Chris Shula is certainly trying things defensively to hide his linebackers, but there’s only so much you can do. There have been plenty of times where Verse or Hoecht drop back into coverage and are essentially the inside linebacker for that play. However, that also can’t be the answer every play.
The deficiencies at linebacker are only becoming more evident. During the second half, the Bears clearly attacked that area of the field and other teams will do the same. Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom simply are not the answer. Reeder is supposed to be the run-defending linebacker in the middle of the defense, but is average in that area at best and is a liability in coverage. It’s hard to see either player improving right now. They aren’t the only issue on defense, but they are a big one.
7. Inability to finish is becoming a theme
Whether it’s not finishing in the red zone, not finishing sack opportunities, or just not finishing, it is becoming a theme of this 2024 Rams team. That stuff will come with experience, but in the moment it is certainly frustrating.
The Rams need to start finishing. When the field goals turn into touchdowns and the explosive plays out of structure become sacks, it will become a game changer. Right now, whether it’s mental lapses or something else, the Rams are struggling to finish.
8. Self-inflicted mistakes too much to overcome
Mistakes and penalties are going to happen. They are part of the game of football. Right now, the Rams aren’t good enough to overcome a series of mistakes. That’s evident in the play-calling where McVay called back-to-back draw plays to set up a Josh Karty field goal following a sack.
Add in the fumble, penalties in key moments, the missed field goal and it all starts to pile up. A really good, well-rounded, experienced team may be able to overcome those types of mistakes. This is currently an inexperiences team learning on the fly. This will be a learning moment for the Rams, but it’s hard when those lessons come with a loss.
9. Loss is a lesson Rams have to learn the hard way
That brings us to my next takeaway. This Bears loss is a lesson that the Rams have to learn the hard way. The Rams outgained the Bears, averaged more yards per play, and were 5-for-11 on third down. They had a 52.5 percent success rate on offense to the Bears’ 50 percent and were also better on a per play basis on defense.
However, the NFL is too good to keep a worse team in the game for too long. Give a team life and more times than not, they will take advantage. That’s exactly what happened on Sunday. The could have taken a 10-0 lead early by scoring a touchdown in the red zone, instead it was 6-0. One fumble later and the Bears took the lead. This game had the feel of the Steelers game in 2023 and could leave many wondering ‘what if’ at the end of the season.
10. Not time to panic, but urgency is needed
Next week will be a now or never moment for the Rams. A 1-3 record is a big hole to climb out of. Only 42 teams that began 1-3 have made the playoffs since the 1970 merger. There is about a one in eight chance since the NFL moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021.
It’s time for the Rams to look in the mirror and decide what kind of team they want to be. They have the excuses of injuries and being young. However, last year’s team had some of those same excuses. Even if the Rams go into the bye week at 1-4, there is a lot of time to come back from that. With that said, with every loss, the margins become thinner. The Rams made the playoffs after a 3-6 start last year, but won seven of eight down the stretch for that to happen. The same urgency that the Rams finally felt in the second half of the fourth quarter on Sunday, that needs to be the mindset going forward.
