After a solid win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, the Los Angeles Rams now head into their bye week and should be feeling good about adding some wins to their belt.
The Rams could definitely use the break to reset and refocus for the latter half of the 2019 NFL season because it is apparent that they are still trying to find their groove and swagger in what has so far been an inconsistent year. The offense has really struggled to generate the explosive plays fans are used to seeing while the defense has gotten better in recent weeks but still sometimes has trouble getting off the field.
Los Angeles has not been home since their Week 6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers as they traveled to Atlanta to play the Falcons then flew overseas to London to play the Bengals.
While the travel was likely exhausting, Aaron Donald explained that being away from California has afforded the team extra time to jell off the field, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“Yeah, because we’ve been around each other all day, every day. I’m ready to get away from these guys,” Rams DT Aaron Donald joked. “No, but it’s been good. Guys being together, bonding, doing things outside of the football world, just hanging out. It’s been good for us.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay‘s teams have always stressed accountability and togetherness so it is good to hear that the players have had a chance to enjoy each other’s time and build some off-the-field chemistry. That should lend itself to better communication and play on the field moving forward.
Even at 5-3, the Rams are well-aware that they have a lot more room for improvement in every phase as some of their losses occurred due to ill-timed turnovers or a lack of focus and discipline. Those kinds of issues are what separate good teams from great ones and Los Angeles needs to prove that they are the latter if they hope to make a run at the postseason.
However, their early-season struggles have now them in a position where they will need to rattle off an extended winning streak to get back into playoff contention. The Rams did what they were widely expected to do when they beat the Falcons and Bengals, but they will need to continue that momentum when they head to Pittsburgh after the bye week for their game against the Steelers and their re-energized defense.
