The Los Angeles Rams lost in disappointing fashion on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, giving them a 1-2 record through three weeks. Following the team’s second straight loss, Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey has the Rams ranked 20th in the latest power rankings, up one spot from last week’s rankings.
Here is what Bailey had to say about the Rams’ performance versus the Bengals in Week 3:
Buy Rams TicketsJust a putrid performance from the Rams’ offensive line. Matthew Stafford was under pressure all night, and they didn’t convert a third down. The defense did all they could, but they weren’t given any help.
Through the first two weeks of the season, the new-look offensive line of the Rams did a fantastic job keeping Matthew Stafford upright. The offensive line allowed only one sack in their first two games against the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.
Alaric Jackson exited with a thigh injury on Monday night, leading to Zachary Thomas replacing him at left tackle. Once Thomas entered the game, the floodgates opened and the Bengals began teeing off on the Rams’ offensive line.
The Bengals would sack Stafford six times and the veteran signal-caller looked rushed on nearly every snap he took. Sean McVay is also partly to blame as he never adjusted to having Thomas on the field instead of Jackson, which allowed the Bengals to create one-on-one matchups for Trey Hendrickson.
Even with a loss last week to the 49ers, there were plenty of positives for a young Rams team. But after last night’s showing on the road versus the Bengals, the Rams are in must-win territory against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 if they want to avoid being a bottom-10 team in the league.
