Rams Stay Hot

One week after putting up 51 points to add to an already impressive body of work, the NFL’s top-ranked offense looked nothing like itself, and that frustrated Sean McVay.

So, with the defense at work with a couple of minutes left in the first half and his team trailing the visiting Houston Texans after failing to muster a single touchdown, the Los Angeles Rams’ first-year head coach sat on a cooler and went over his laminated play card and tried to pinpoint the source of the problem.

“It’s frustrating because you’re responsible,” McVay recalled. “There was a lot of things, when you look back at it, that I didn’t do a good job of putting our players in good spots. When you look at it, that’s your responsibility as a coach and a play caller and I thought the guys overcame some bad calls early on in that game.”

As McVay worked to figure things out, the defense recorded its second takeaway of the first half – an interception by linebacker Mark Barron at the Rams’ 10-yard line to prevent the Texans from scoring. The offense returned to the field and marched 43 yards in 10 plays that was capped by a 50-yard field goal, giving the team a lead with 19 seconds left in the half.

That takeaway, ensuing drive and lead represented the beginning of an eruption that would key a 33-7 victory over Houston at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

After erasing that 7-6 deficit with Greg Zuerlein’s kick that put the Rams up 9-7, L.A. never trailed again. At halftime, McVay and quarterback Jared Goff both addressed the locker room. McVay told his players there was no need to panic. Sure, the offense that entered the game averaging 32.9 points a game had yet to find the end zone. The unit had missed on third downs. It got stopped for losses on runs. And it managed just 131 yards in two quarters.

“Just a little adversity,” players said McVay told them. Then he challenged them to respond properly. And respond they did.

With the defense continuing to shut down Houston’s offense and give the offense favorable position, Goff and Co. settled into a better rhythm and reverted to their explosive ways.

Goff connected with Robert Woods for a 94-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, during which the Rams posted 21 points and 105 yards.

“As a whole, they stayed resilient, mentally tough and defense played really well and that kept us in it when we weren’t playing very well offensively,” McVay said. “Then, you get a little momentum and you’re able to string together some drives, and you look at the field position we were able to come away with in short fields where we were able to turn into touchdowns, and that was huge.”

Goff connected with wideout Sammy Watkins for a 17-yard touchdown, then went to Woods again for another touchdown on a 12-yard scoring strike. That second Woods touchdown gave Goff his third 300-yard passing day of the season and his fourth game with multiple touchdown passes. The quarterback finished with 355 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-37 passing.

But offensive players and McVay credited the defense for positioning the offense for that success.

“I can’t stress enough about what the defense did for us today,” Goff said. “It’s really underrated what they’re doing because we’re scoring so much, but they’re the backbone of this team.”

A sack-fumble by linebacker Samson Ebukam (the second-such play of the game for L.A.) set up Woods’ second touchdown. The defense racked up another sack and six more hits on Houston quarterback Tom Savage in the final two quarters, and intercepted him once more.

The Rams defense limited Houston to just 95 second-half yards and denied the Texans on all five third-down attempts.

“We didn’t change anything,” Ebukam said. “We just said keep taking steps in the right direction. They got tired and we didn’t. We’re a mentally strong team, and we were able to ensure we didn’t have that drop-off. That’s how we practice. The best way to be excellent is to be consistent.”

Said fellow linebacker Alec Ogletree, “We confidence in the offense. We knew that if we did our part on defense, then the offense would come together and play well, and they continue to show that every week.”

With the victory, the Rams extended their win streak to five games, and they also improved to 7-2 on the season and remained in first place in the NFC West.

Seattle ranks second in the division, and the Seahawks improved to 6-3 with a win over Arizona on Thursday. So beating Houston and remaining ahead was crucial, especially with a matchup against a division leader next Sunday.

“We’ve got Minnesota next week,” Goff said. “It’ll be tough. They’re 7-2, we’re 7-2. I expect it’ll be loud there. They’ve got a really good team, and so that’s all we’re focused on now.”