Are the Los Angeles Rams in trouble? It might be too early to tell how LA's 2024 campaign will turn out after a 0-2 start, and for quarterback Matthew Stafford, nothing that happened in their 41-10 blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals on the road should define his team.
“It’s not going to define us as a team,” Stafford told reporters in the postgame press conference following the Rams' latest defeat.
“It’s not going to define us as a season,” the former No. 1 overall pick added.
“It’s not going to define us as a team. It’s not going to define us as a season.” pic.twitter.com/T69faPy305
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 15, 2024
“It’s not going to define us as a team. It’s not going to define us as a season.”
The Rams have now suffered two losses in varying degrees of frustration. Their Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions on the road was a close one that ended in a 26-20 score in overtime. Los Angeles' defeat at the hands of the Cardinals was perhaps more embarrassing, considering the final score. The Cardinals broke away early, outscoring Los Angeles in the first period, 14-0. Arizona stretched its lead to as many as 21 points in the second period before Joshua Karty ended the drought for the Rams with a field goal from 29 yards away.
The second half was all Cardinals as well, as they added 17 points to their total while holding Stafford and the Rams to only seven points, which came from a Kyren Williams four-yard touchdown very late in the period.
Rams are not having an ideal start to their 2024 NFL season
There were issues for the Rams on both ends of the field against Arizona. Los Angeles only had 14 first downs while the Cardinals had 24. Converting on third downs was also a problem for Los Angeles, which went just 2-for-11 in those situations. Perhaps the most glaring disparity was in the rushing attack of both teams, with Arizona picking up 231 yards on the ground.
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The Rams only coughed up 53 rushing yards in the entire contest, though, that was also because Los Angeles spent the entire game trying to catch up on the Cardinals. Stafford, however, did not have his best weapons downfield for most of the contest. Puka Nacua was unavailable with an injured right knee, while Cooper Kupp was not able to see action in the second half after he was seen limping near the end of the second period. It is uncertain at the moment whether Kupp will be able to take the field in Week 3 but the Rams may have to start preparing as though they won't have both Nacua and Kupp active for their next outing.
Making things worse for Stafford was the leaky protection unit in front of him, as he was sacked five times for a loss of 24 yards while competing 19-0f-27 throws for 216 passing yards and zero touchdowns.
Stafford can only hope that life on the field will be better for the Rams in Wee k3 when they play their first home game of the season with the San Francisco 49ers coming to Inglewood.
