INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- After two missed kicks in a 34-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said his team's special team issues "can't continue like this."
"It's got to get better," he said. "... I'm not going to get into blaming anybody specifically. Ultimately it's my responsibility. It's gone on for too long, and we've got to be able to fix it."
On Sunday, Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed an extra point attempt and a 39-yard field goal try in the second quarter. It was the first time the Rams missed two kicks in the first half of a game since Week 7 of the 2023 season.
"It's going to cost us," McVay said. "It's cost us already. And it's been a momentum killer. It does take the air out of our sails. Our guys have shown that they can respond and overcome it, but ... the truth of it is this is not sustainable to continuously go where we want to go."
The Rams have been unsuccessful on five field goal attempts this season (two blocked, three missed), which is tied for the second most in the NFL. Their 67% field goal percentage is the worst in the league.
Last season, Karty was 29-of-34 on field goal attempts. None of the five unsuccessful attempts were blocked.
The Rams also have missed three PATs this season, tied for the second most in the NFL. Two of those kicks were blocked, which is more than the rest of the league combined this season.
After Karty missed a field goal try in Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, McVay said, "Karty is a guy that I'm ready to stick with." On Sunday, when asked whether bringing another kicker in for a competition is a possibility, McVay said, "What I would say is, I got confidence in Josh."
"There's a lot of layers to it, and we'll evaluate all parts of it," McVay said. "And so I think no different than when you're [a quarterback] throwing interceptions or whatever it is, I think naturally the narrative shifts towards the kicker and that might not always be the case."
McVay said the Rams have been "fortunate that we've gotten away with" missed kicks at times, "but it has cost us throughout the season."
"And that's something that you can't run away from," McVay said. "That's the truth. But what I will say is ... the granular elements of why it has or hasn't gone down, I don't necessarily think this is the appropriate time to acknowledge that. I don't believe in putting anybody out there.
"And it is my responsibility to be able to figure it out. And [I] thought we were trending in the right direction and today was a step back, and that's disappointing and that's unfortunate."
Information from ESPN Research was used in this report.