INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Just when the Los Angeles Rams seemed to address their problems with scoring touchdowns in the red zone, the offense found another issue to hamper them.
Turnovers. Way too many of them.
And they proved to be the difference in a 24-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
“You know, I think we’ve moved the ball nice between the 20’s,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We just haven’t scored enough points. And it’s the name of the game in this league, you know. Got to score points, got to take care of the football.
“I think we can be better in both those areas.”
The Rams (1-4) lost a fumble and threw an interception in Packers territory on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Green Bay (3-2) turned both takeaways into touchdowns and then was able to hold off a fourth-quarter push to send Los Angeles to its worst start through five games since 2014, which is also Sean McVay’s worst mark in his eight seasons as coach.
Running back Kyren Williams had the ball knocked out at the Packers 23 and safety Xavier McKinney recovered it. Two plays later, Tucker Kraft had a 66-yard catch-and-run touchdown that put Green Bay up 17-13.
The Rams put together an effective response, only for Stafford to loft the ball into double coverage on third down. McKinney came up with the pick and the Packers delivered another drive capped by Jordan Love’s touchdown pass to Kraft to make it an 11-point lead.
Los Angeles had two lost fumbles and two interceptions through its first four games. Its lone win against San Francisco in Week 3 came when the offense did not give the ball away.
“Sometimes you can overcome that, but the majority of the time, you’re not able to,” McVay said.
Previous single-digit defeats had been defined by the Rams’ struggles scoring touchdowns inside the 20, going 7 for 17 (41.2%) through four games. Settling for field goals was the difference in an overtime loss at Detroit in the season opener and a six-point loss at Chicago last week.
The Rams were 2 for 3 in the red zone against the Packers, with Stafford crediting more consistency from the running game to set up Williams’ 1-yard scoring rush in the second quarter and his 1-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with 3:30 remaining to pull within five points.
But Los Angeles didn’t convert from the Packers 4 in the first quarter, with two of Stafford’s passes for tight end Colby Parkinson falling incomplete on third and fourth down.
“It’s frustrating to have those opportunities slip away, and points matter,” Stafford said. “They’re at a premium in this league. So just try to work and be as precise as we can.”
The empty possession, along with a missed extra point by rookie Joshua Karty and wide receiver Tutu Atwell’s unsuccessful jet sweep on a 2-point try in the fourth quarter, were mistakes that compounded the Rams’ turnover issues.
Even with those gaffes, the Rams still had a chance to win it on their final possession. Stafford drove them to the Packers 38, but he was pressured into a quick throw on fourth down just ahead of Parkinson on a slant to end the comeback bid with 1:02 to go.
The Rams fought out of similar struggles last season, rallying back from a 3-6 start to make the playoffs. It will take that kind of effort to do the same this year, and McVay said it must start with the discipline to avoid giving away opportunities.
“Before you can start winning games, you have to start learning how not to beat yourself,” he said. “But I am proud of the fight of this group. This one, this one is a tough one, but we’ll respond, we’ll look at ourselves, and we’ll figure out how to be better and continue to do a better job coaching.”
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