The Rams’ offense is broken. That became very clear on Sunday in their 16-13 loss to the Buccaneers, a game they should’ve won fairly easily thanks to a strong defensive performance.
But unfortunately, the offense laid an egg again and was even lucky to score 13 points with how poorly they played. It was truly one of the worst offensive performances the Rams have had in the last decade. They had as many punts (9) as they had first downs (9) and looking at their drive chart is torturous.
It’s so bad that even Jeff Fisher’s Rams teams never had a performance this bad when it comes to first downs, punts and total yards. Let’s dive into the numbers, which is a bit like diving into a pool with no water.
Jeff Fisher’s offense never had a performance this bad
Going all the way back to 2012, there have only been 18 games in the NFL where a team had nine or fewer first downs, nine or more punts and 210 or fewer yards. The Rams’ performance on Sunday is one of them, picking up nine first downs, punting nine times and gaining only 206 yards against the Bucs.
In Fisher’s tenure from 2012 to 2016, the Rams never had a single game with nine or more punts, nine or fewer first downs and 210 or fewer yards. They had some paltry performances, but never one with those statistics.
Dating back to 2000, this was the Rams’ fourth game with numbers that bad: 2006 against the Panthers, 2008 against the Eagles and 2010 against the 49ers.
Rams went three-and-out on 8 of 12 possessions
The Rams had 12 legitimate possessions that didn’t include the end of the first half kneel-down and the final play with 9 seconds left. On eight of those drives, the offense went three-and-out, failing to pick up a single first down. That’s simply unacceptable and a sign of the offense’s ineptitude at this point in the season.
Five drives went for negative yardage, only three with more than 7 yards
Of their 14 total possessions, including the end of each half, the Rams had five drives that finished with negative yardage. It’s bad enough to not pick up a first down, but it’s unacceptable to go backwards on more than a third of your possessions.
Additionally, only seven of their 14 possessions gained more than 7 yards, and those were their three scoring drives.
The Rams offense today
3 drives of 30+ yards
6 drives between 3-7 yards
5 drives with negative yards— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) November 7, 2022
Fewest first downs, second-fewest yards of McVay era
Under McVay, the Rams have never had so few first downs. Their nine first downs were the fewest since 2017 when McVay became the head coach. The only other game with 10 or fewer first downs came in 2019 when they had 10 against the 49ers in a 20-7 loss in Week 6.
Rams offense finished with nine total first downs in today's loss to the Bucs — that's the low in six seasons under Sean McVay. They had 10 in a 2019 loss to 49ers. Their 206 yards of total offense is second-lowest under McVay, behind that 49ers loss as well.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 7, 2022
Second-fewest first downs by any team this season
Not only was this a historically bad performance for the Rams as a franchise, but it was one of the worst of any team this season. Their nine first downs are the second-fewest in a single game this year, one more than the eight first downs they held the Panthers to in Week 6.
For Bucs defense, today's nine total first downs by Rams is the fewest they've allowed in any game since 2008.
It also matches the second-fewest first downs allowed by any NFL team in any game this season — Rams held Panthers to eight three weeks ago.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 7, 2022
Rams had zero first downs and 5 yards in fourth quarter
The fourth quarter has been a huge problem for the Rams this season. They’ve been outscored by 61 points in the final 15 minutes, which is by far the worst in the NFL. Against the Buccaneers, the Rams were outscored 10-0, but they didn’t even come close to scoring points. Los Angeles had zero first downs on their four possessions in the fourth quarter and totaled just 5 yards. They were actually called for more penalty yards (11) than they had total yards.
