The Los Angeles Rams were unable to pick up where they left off before the bye after losing on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 thanks in large part to a disappointing outing by quarterback Jared Goff.
Rams head coach Sean McVay has done what he can to pin their abysmal outing on the offense as a whole rather than one area in particular. Regardless, there is no denying that Goff’s lackluster performance served as the primary catalyst in the 17-12 loss.
He completed just 22-of-41 passes for 243 yards and two interceptions while the Rams went 1-of-14 on third-down conversions. As a result, he has caught plenty of flak for this team falling to 5-4 on the 2019 NFL season.
Despite Goff’s struggles, McVay is still optimistic that he will be able to get himself back on track, via the Rams’ official Twitter:
“I think he’s a confident guy. I think Jared knows Jared, that he is going to end up finding a way to fight through this and we’re all in this thing together,” McVay said. “There’s been a lot of things that have gone good, there’s been some recent adversity and anybody that’s had any success finds a way to fight through it. Just keep scratching and clawing, keep doing whatever he can to look inwardly and not allow those things to affect our ability to move forward.”
Although it is encouraging to see McVay still holding out hope for his franchise quarterback, Goff will need to start showing some consistent signs of a potential resurgence in order for these comments to ring true. Unfortunately, there will be even smaller room for error now that the Rams have dug themselves in quite a hole to start the second half of the season.
Of course, it would be unfair to pin the entirety of the offense’s struggles solely on Goff. His offensive line certainly has not done him any favors and it remains to be seen whether or not they will continue to have to make adjustments up front with the injury to center Brian Allen.
Goff was sacked four times and was under pressure on the majority of plays where he dropped back. Meanwhile, the sudden rash of penalties from the offensive line consistently put the Rams at a disadvantage when it came to down and distance.
Regardless, there is no question that any improvements on offense must start with a spark under center and the onus will ultimately fall on Goff to show he is capable of finding his rhythm once again.
