The Los Angeles Rams have to be feeling pretty good after they managed a win against the Cincinnati Bengals in London in Week 8 to move to 5-3 on the year.
The Rams continued to build upon some of the things we saw in their victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7, primarily the passing game and their defense. Jared Goff had another solid outing on the season as he finished with 372 passing yards and two passing touchdowns while Cooper Kupp exploded for a career-high 220 receiving yards on seven catches and a touchdown.
Cincinnati came into the season with first-time head coach and former Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor and they have quickly spiraled down the standings. After the loss to Los Angeles, the Bengals now sit at 0-8 and are in prime position to land one of the top picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Despite the disastrous start, Taylor remained hopeful about his team’s prospects going forward and has taken a lot from what it happening in Los Angeles, via Gary Klein of L.A. Times:
“It’s a good group of people there,” Taylor said of the Rams, “and that’s why I’m so encouraged by what we’ve got going in our building because everybody’s on the same page. … I know it hasn’t paid off yet, but it’s going to because everybody still believes, and we keep believing in each other and stick tight together, and it will pay off just like it’s paid off for them.”
Taylor was primarily brought in to revamp a struggling Bengals offense and his time working with McVay seemed like the perfect experience for him to do just that. The offense has yet to fully click, however, as their star wide receiver A.J. Green has yet to play during the 2019 NFL season after suffering an ankle injury in the summer and their offensive line is also dealing with their fair share of injuries.
McVay has placed a premium on marrying the run game to the passing game, but so far the Bengals have yet to get either method going and we will most likely not see anything close to an explosive offense until next year. It goes to show just how fortunate the Rams are that they have someone like McVay running the team as it is extremely rare for organizations to have the kind of early success he and Los Angeles have already achieved.
The Rams get a much-needed break to refocus and reassess their performances heading into their bye week before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.
