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LOS ANGELES -- As Sean McVay stood at the podium after the Los Angeles Rams' 23-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, he had one word to describe how he would evaluate the team's offense through 11 weeks of the season. "Inconsistent," the head coach said. There was the week against the Minnesota Vikings, when the Rams scored 30 points, the most the team had scored since Week 16 of the 2023 season. There was Week 10 in Seattle, where the Rams won in overtime with two big takeaways from the defense, including a pick-six.
And then, when it seemed the offense was healthy, with wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua on the field together and left guard Steve Avila and center Jonah Jackson back from injured reserve, the Rams failed to find the end zone against the Dolphins, snapping their three-game winning streak. It was just the second time that Matthew Stafford started a game for the Rams that the team did not score a touchdown. Stafford has gone four games without a passing touchdown this season, which is tied for the most in his career, according to ESPN Research. Stafford has also thrown an interception in six straight games, which is tied for the longest streak of his career and is the second-longest active streak in the NFL. The Rams' playoff chances are down to 10%, according to ESPN Analytics. But if the team is going to turn its losing record into a run for the playoffs, it will need to figure out how to find consistency on offense. The Rams will get a chance to bounce back Sunday, when they play the 3-7 New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET, Fox), who rank 30th in defensive DVOA. On Monday night, Stafford said the lack of consistency on offense came from "negative plays at the wrong times." "Whether it's a turnover, a sack, an inefficient play on first down or whatever it was," Stafford said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit in that kind of strike zone area, 30-yard line-ish area. That was probably the difference in the game, and not coming up with touchdowns." The Rams were 0-for-3 in the red zone against the Dolphins, giving them the third-lowest red zone touchdown percentage in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Research. Los Angeles has also had trouble scoring early in games. The Rams have been outscored by 43 points in the first quarter this season, which is the worst mark in the NFL. Los Angeles has been scoreless in the first quarter in six of its nine games. "Yeah, I think anytime you don't score, it's ... you hate to hear it, but it's a lack of executing the plays that we have," Stafford said. "There hasn't been a whole bunch of times where we line up and the first quarter of the game, we feel like we have no idea what we're doing or it's just one thing here, one thing there and that's the way it goes. You have to execute at a higher level, [and] we know that. We feel the sense of urgency to go out there and do that. That's where our mindset's at for this week." McVay said Wednesday that the lack of continuity in the offensive line -- "I think you have to acknowledge the fact that 60% of our guys that were out there hadn't played football in months" -- played into the struggles against the Dolphins. The group got Avila and Jackson back but were without right tackle Rob Havenstein, who injured his ankle in Week 9. "Some of the continuity things ... the thing that you talk about is, how do you continuously try to identify and establish an identity?" McVay said. "There have been a lot of moving parts. You can say it's an excuse, but there's some truth to it too when you do look back on it. Ultimately, you're hopeful that we can stay healthy and we can start to be able to forge those things."
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