The Los Angeles Rams lost their third consecutive game and seventh in their last eight Sunday as they were defeated by the New England Patriots 26-10 on the road to drop to 4-8 on the season.
The offense struggled once again, as they scored just 10 points marking the fifth time in the last six games that they scored 10 or less points.
Rookie quarterback Jared Goff struggled a bit in just his third career start, as he threw two interceptions in the game and Los Angeles had just one first down in the first half.
It wasn’t all Goff’s fault though, as his receivers dropped a number of passes that could have resulted in first downs. Additionally, his first interceptions went off the hand of tight end Lance Kendricks before being intercepted by Malcolm Butler.
Head coach Jeff Fisher talked about the drops after the game, saying that they were not Goff’s fault, via Myles Simmons of TheRams.com:
“They are drops and it’s hard on a quarterback,” Fisher said. “So, you know, we will be realistic when we evaluate the plays, but just offhand, my perspective on the sideline was he making the reads.
“Both interceptions — one was the result of a drop and one was the result of bad protection and he got hit and let the ball go,” Fisher said. “So if he’s making a bad decision and hitting a defender in the chest with the ball, then that’s one thing. But he didn’t do that.”
Fisher added that the offense made a number of errors which led to the loss:
“We had a lot of errors across the board, really, offensively — myself, everybody really,” Goff said. “Errors, they’re obviously going to happen, you just want to limit them. I mean, when one thing happens, you can’t get down about it. You’re OK, move on.”
Overall Goff completed 14-of-32 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the game. A big chunk of those yards came in the Rams last drive when the game was already out of reach though, as Goff connected with receiver Kenny Britt on a 66-yard pass and then found Britt for a touchdown a few plays later.
Fisher’s lack of an offensive mind has perhaps stunted Goff’s growth this season, and it doesn’t appear that it is going to change anytime soon as it was announced before the game Sunday that Fisher received a two-year contract extension.
