The Los Angeles Rams sit atop the NFC West again at 8-4 after handling the Arizona Cardinals on the road in Week 13.
The Rams looked much better on offense as Jared Goff was able to take care of the football and get the passing and running games going. Meanwhile, the defense once again stepped up and helped limit Kyler Murray to only 173 passing yards.
While Los Angeles looked good on those sides of the ball, special teams left something to be desired after Matt Gay missed a field goal, fumble a punt return and L.A. and allowed a 54-yard return from Chase Edmonds. Sean McVay emphasized that he would like to see his team play a more complete game, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I want to see us play complementary football,” McVay said during a video conference Monday morning. “I was pleased with the offense and the defense (against the Cardinals). Clearly there’s some things in the kicking game that we have to get better at. That’s not a secret to anybody from yesterday. But the beauty of it is, is you get a chance on a short week to be able to respond.”
McVay also noted that this is the time for the Rams to pick up their play and get right heading into the postseason:
“The teams that I think are going have the most success are the ones that are playing the best in December,” McVay said. “It’s all you can ask for is being involved in games that matter. Our guys have done a good enough job to put themselves in a position to be relevant right now, but it’s only about what we can do this Thursday and see if we can go give ourselves a chance to get our ninth win and then have a couple of days of rest and come back for the last three (games).”
Los Angeles is full of talent but has struggled to really put together a complete game so far this season. The Rams flashed how dominant they could be in wins against the Washington Football Team and Chicago Bears, but have also crumbled against the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
Despite their inconsistency, McVay should be able to get the best out of the Rams going forward and he has a good chance to do so when they take on the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
