After Week 14, the Rams sit at 9-4 and third in the NFC.
If the season were to end today, they would face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers again in the Wild Card Round.
The Rams haven’t clinched a playoff spot yet, but with a win over the Seahawks in week 16, they will. They only need to get past the 0-13 Jets next week, and we all know they’re tanking for Trevor Lawrence.
It’s almost certain the Rams will make the playoffs, but they won’t make it very far unless they make one big change. The offense needs to stop turning the ball over.
The Rams turn the ball over the fifth most in the league with 21 turnovers.
Luckily, they are the second-best team at creating turnovers with 21 turnovers.
The Rams are honestly one of the best defenses in the league, and their ability to create turnovers isn’t the only reason. The Rams are first in yards allowed per game and third in points allowed per game. They are also second in sacks, led by Aaron Donald’s 12.5 sacks on the season, a league-best.
The defense has been on fire since the bye week. The Rams defense has averaged 2.2 turnovers pregame in the five games since their bye week compared to 1.25 turnovers in the eight games before their bye week. However, in the five games before the bye week, the offense has turned the ball over 1.8 per game — they were averaging 1.5 turnovers per game in the eight games before their bye week.
The offense has started turning the ball over more as the defense has created more turnovers. If the Rams want to progress further than the Wild Card round, they need to stop turning the ball over.
To get the Rams over the hump, it all starts with Jared Goff. He has thrown 11 interceptions. The rest of the offense hasn’t been much better, only fumbling the ball seven times. However, that’s spread over six players, including Goff. In 13 weeks, the Rams have turned the ball over 1.6 times per game.
In the playoffs, teams are going to exploit that. The New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers will capitalize on those turnovers and put points on the board.
Goff needs to make better decisions when throwing it and the receivers and running backs need to make sure they protect the ball over getting more yards.
Featured Image: Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
