With the tough loss on Sunday, it can leave Rams playing the “what if” game. We do exactly that about the Rams loss to the Eagles.
Tough losses have a way of working their way into your thoughts for several days, as the Los Angeles Rams loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday is doing that for me.
I can’t help but think of the myriad things that went wrong, and how if only one or two of them were different, the Rams likely would have beaten the Eagles.
Baseball has been called a game of inches, but believe it or not, the Rams seem to have shown how football can be as well.
To back that statement up, here is a look into my thinking the last few days in regards to Los Angeles coming off that tough loss to Philadelphia.
What if Aqib Talib was able to lock down Alshon Jeffery and not let him have 160 yards receiving?
What if the Rams secondary didn’t allow two defenders to get behind them for a huge gain?
What if John Sullivan didn’t step on Jared Goff‘s foot on the 3rd and 1 play?
What if Goff fell on the ball rather than blindly passing forward to Corey Graham?
What if Graham hadn’t made an amazing one-handed catch on the interception?
What if Johnny Hekker‘s pass on the fake punt in the third quarter was an inch or two higher and KhaDarel Hodge caught the pass for the first down?
What if the Rams punted the football away rather than faking it?
What if Todd Gurley didn’t have knee swelling and was available more in the second half?
What if Goff had made a couple of those throws to wide open receivers (i.e. Gurley in the end zone, Gerald Everett at the goal line, Everett at the sideline, Robert Woods over the middle)?
What if JoJo Natson called a fair catch, or at least didn’t fumble his last punt return of the game?
What if they had managed the clock better at the end of the game?
Of course, these specific questions lead a fan to ask larger, more global questions, such as:
What if Cooper Kupp had not gotten hurt several weeks ago?
What if the Rams had edge rushers that could put pressure on the quarterback due to all of the attention Aaron Donald gets in the middle?
What if the offensive line was playing better, and they could allow the Rams to protect and throw deep?
As I look back on the game, I can help but think if a couple of these things broke differently, the Rams would have won against the Eagles.
However, this alone would not have made it a well-played game for the Rams.
Without question, Los Angeles needs to get their offensive woes figured out, and they need to do it soon. Otherwise, it’s going to be another early exit come January when it comes to the Rams in the playoffs.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News