LA collides with a Packers team that has dropped four games in a row In most cases facing a team on a four-game losing streak is just what the doctor ordered to turn around the season when you have a disappointing 3-5 record. Instead, the Los Angeles Rams find themselves battered, bruised, and limping into this weekend’s Week 9 contest against the Green Bay Packers. Sunday afternoon’s game isn’t necessarily a pillow fight, but it’s a matchup of two teams that haven’t necessarily found their identity on either side of the ball.
Green Bay’s defense is led by Joe Barry, a familiar face for Los Angeles. Despite a plethora of past first-round talent, the Packers have unable to develop into the defensive club they were designed to be. Rashan Gary, the Rams’ edge defender, will be a challenging matchup for the offensive tackles, but he’s nearly the only player with pedigree who sticks out on a weekly basis.
The Rams’ defense is undergoing a year of upheaval. This offseason, they parted ways with Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd, Nick Scott, Taylor Rapp, A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, and others. LA has embraced a young movement, and while there are hopeful signs, there is still a long way to go to make life difficult for opposing offenses on a continuous basis.
Both teams’ offenses are hampered by young mistakes and quarterbacks who miss a lot of throws.
Jordan Love seemed to fall short for Green Bay when the young receiver corps and offensive line are performing well. When Love is able to stand in the pocket and send the ball downfield, his passes are dropped at a rate near the top of the NFL. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they’ve let go of a number of seasoned players in recent years, including Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, Devante Adams, and David Bakhtiari. Getting more experience and bringing in a younger group will result in growing pains and bumps along the way—it’s only normal.
The Rams’ offensive woes appear to be more fundamental. Despite substantially investing on the offensive line with contract extensions for Rob Havenstein, Joe Noteboom, and Brian Allen, premium draft capital in Steve Avila, and trading for Kevin Dotson, the results have been disappointing. Matthew Stafford is still under duress on a regular basis, and it’s affecting the rest of the offense. Stafford is having one of his worst seasons in a decade and a half, ranking at the bottom of the NFL in adjusted completion percentage—one of the more reliable measurements for accuracy.
The basic truth is that this is an offense that was designed to be effective immediately while the defense figured things out, and they’ve been nothing but disappointing for the most part, with the exception of an energizing win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. The offensive line needs to improve. Stafford must improve, and the offensive system must do a better job of delivering the ball to its dynamic playmakers Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Tutu Atwell.
Losing this game effectively ends the Rams’ 2023 season, and finishing 3-6 means it’s time to turn the page and prepare for the 2024 offseason. Perhaps that means selecting a quarterback in the first round for the first time since 2016. Maybe they’ll keep investing in the offensive line and finally shore it up. LA will have plenty of cap money for free agency and will almost certainly be looking for a true pass rusher.
The Rams’ game this weekend is crucial, and a loss to a poor team like the Packers would effectively terminate their season.
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