The Los Angeles Rams suffered their first loss of the 2019 NFL season at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite being favored to remain undefeated.
The 55-40 loss solidified some of the concerns that had been plaguing the Rams through the first three games of the year. Not only has the offense struggled to find its footing but the defense proved to still be rather vulnerable following a hot start to the season.
Despite the high-scoring nature of the game, there were very few positives to take away from their performance on offense. Regardless, left tackle Andrew Whitworth is not ready to press the panic button just yet.
Witworth admits he was happy to see his teammates remain optimistic during their comeback attempt, via the team’s official website:
“I thought, honestly, if you take anything from the game that you can go, ‘You know what, I’ll hang my hat on that,’ is really that attitude,” LT Andrew Whitworth said. “I mean, really, honestly, every time on the sidelines, it was, ‘Hey guys, all we’ve got to do is go score fast and give ourselves a chance, and get a stop.’ That attitude continued no matter the score, we kept going no matter what they did.
“You always look for – win or loss – things you can take from the game. Something I think we can take from the game is to get in that situation and not have anybody really say, ‘Hey, it’s over’ … but we kept making it a game and, you know what, I think you can be proud of that. It’s something to build off of.”
There is certainly plenty of truth to Whitworth’s comments. Tampa Bay had plenty of chances to put the game away early on, however, Los Angeles still found a way to stay within striking distance until the very end.
Veterans like Whitworth and safety Eric Weddle were seen doing what they could to try and rally the troops on the sidelines when the game was seemingly getting out of hand. Although their efforts ultimately fell short, the resilience they displayed it is still an encouraging sign for this team moving forward.
The onus has now fallen on Whitworth to serve as a stabilizing factor for this Rams’ offensive line that has struggled with pass protection this season. The pressure they have allowed on quarterback Jared Goff has clearly had a significant impact on his overall performance.
Los Angeles is hoping that Whitworth’s optimism will translate to this team getting back into the win column on a short week against the Seattle Seahawks this Thursday night.
