Well, the Rams obviously forgot who they were, losing to the Green Bay Packers 36-28. Even the little “Los Angeles Rams” name tags they wore, on their left shoulders, couldn’t help remind them of the proud team they should be. At times, Matthew Stafford demonstrated the laser accuracy of wife Kelly Stafford launching a soft pretzel at a heckling 49er fan. But those moments were frustratingly scarce. Coming off of a bye week, hopes were high going into Lambeau Field. Rams fans everywhere were hoping Stafford would deliver some sweet revenge to his former division rival, and “almost immunized” Aaron Rodgers. But that was not to be. While the final score seemed somewhat close, make no mistake, the Packers dominated throughout and held a commanding time of possession advantage.
There were some positives though. Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson had solid games. And, more importantly, Odell Beckham Jr. finally had an opportunity to contribute and show he can still play. Finally, the Rams’ defense, at times, seemed stout. But that wasn’t enough. Admittedly, a cold Lambeau Field is a difficult place to secure a win, but coming off of two weeks’ rest, this was the moment.
The Rams, now 7-4, were plagued by mistakes which Green Bay capitalized on in the form of 16 points from three Rams’ turnovers. Matthew Stafford went 21 of 38 for 302 yards while throwing three touchdowns. He also lost a fumble which set up a touchdown and had an interception returned for a touchdown. Speaking of which, Stafford has now thrown a pick-6 in each of the last three games.
All that aside, the Rams are still a solid team despite their current three-game slide. There is no question they remain contenders and have the talent to make a deep run into the playoffs. But, in order to do so, they’ll have to first figure out how to get past Aaron Rodgers and his fractured pinky toe. The reigning league MVP demonstrated why he remains a favorite to repeat. Rodgers went 28 of 45 for 307 yards rebounding from a 34-31 loss, the previous week, at Minnesota. The reigning MVP threw touchdown passes to Randall Cobb and A.J. Dillon while Davante Adams eclipsed 100 yards once again.
Green Bay now stands at 9-3 and, amazingly, has never lost consecutive games in any single season during Matt LaFleur’s three-year reign.
The Rams return home next week, mercifully to play the Jaguars. Let’s hope it is a new start of good things to come.
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