While the offense of the Los Angeles Rams was once again unable to score a touchdown, they prevailed and came out victorious in a 9-3 victory over the New York Jets. Head coach Jeff Fisher and his defense dominated against rookie quarterback Bryce Petty, while Case Keenum did just enough to capture the victory.
The low-scoring affair turned into a defensive contest, with both teams sticking to their strengths. Fisher was facing off against a rookie quarterback in his first career start and the front seven feasted.
To the contrary, the Jets defense stacked the box and kept running back Todd Gurley on his heels. Gurley’s major run of the day was called back on a questionable flag, while Keenum had to endlessly attempt to convert opportunities for his team.
During Fisher’s postgame interview, courtesy of TheRams.com, he elaborated on how Keenum helped the team prevail, instead of holding them back:
“I’m not placing that on the shoulders of the quarterback. It’s always a possibility when his time comes. I thought Case did a nice job. Didn’t get the ball in the end zone and things and you know, he scrambled and picked up some key first downs and kept drives alive. That’s what you need to do against a defense like this.”
Keenum concluded the contest with 165 passing yards on 17 of 30 completions. The offensive line had another subpar outing, as the Jets were able to muster three sacks on the quarterback.
While the running game was unable to get anything going, Keenum found himself in multiple third-down situations, converting to keep the drive, and their hopes, alive.
Fisher continues to say that Keenum doesn’t deserve the blame, with the entire offensive unit not clicking as they should be. Wide receivers continue to drop catchable passes, making the 28-year-old’s life more difficult.
When asked why the offense hasn’t been able to convert, Fisher painted a simple picture and gave credit to their opposing defenses these past two games:
“We’re not scoring points when we had opportunities, it’s that simple. Can’t paint it to you any other way. We got to get the ball in the end zone. We had some opportunities and couldn’t do it, but we played some good defenses.”
Fisher was also asked if the this lack of scoring opens up an opportunity for a quarterback change, to which he gave an irritated response saying Goff’s insertion wouldn’t change the miscues by the entire unit.
The Jets did a phenomenal job of limiting the ground game, as Gurley led the unit with only 64 rushing yards. Coming into the contest, the Rams were averaging about 308 yards per game, but were held to just 280 on Sunday.
The halt to the four-game losing streak may have saved Fisher and Keenum’s job, as they prepare for a Week 11 showdown at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Miami Dolphins.
