The offensive struggles for the Los Angeles Rams have been well-documented to begin the season. With five weeks now behind us, this graphic by The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin shows that the Rams have been the worst passing team on early downs in the NFL thus far.
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The worst passing offense on early downs is the…Rams? pic.twitter.com/5jsqHFzitM
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) October 11, 2022
There haven’t been many positives from the offense of the Rams in the first five weeks, maybe aside from Cooper Kupp still being one of the most reliable wide receivers in the league. The injuries along the offensive line and the lack of weapons outside of Kupp have resulted in Los Angeles posting only 16 points per game (fourth-fewest in the NFL).
The Rams have been unable to sustain drives and one reason for that is the ineffectiveness of their early-down passing plays. Matthew Stafford has been under constant duress and Los Angeles continues to find itself in second-and-long or third-and-long situations.
While the Rams have converted third downs at the 10th-best rate (41.3%) this season, they aren’t doing themselves any favors by being unable to execute on early downs. Amid all of the issues that Sean McVay’s squad needs to fix on offense, getting productive passing plays from Stafford on early downs could be part of the remedy for success moving forward.
