Plenty of scoring, but not that much offense
That’s the conundrum facing the Rams, who haven’t been clicking with the ball and now must stop a rejuvenated Peterson in London
LONDON — From a marketing perspective, the NFL has lucked into a good scenario.
Fans expected to pack London’s Twickenham Stadium on Sunday will see a Rams team that leads the league in scoring against a Cardinals team that features future Hall of Famers Adrian Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald.
That is, arguably, quality global entertainment.
But even though the Rams might be averaging a league-best 29.8 points a game, coach Sean McVay’s offense has, of late, not been part of the show — at least when it comes to reaching the end zone. Consider:
The Rams scored only one touchdown in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 8.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein kicked a team-record seven field goals in a 35-30 victory at Dallas on Oct. 1.
The kickoff-return and punt-block units combined with Zuerlein to score 20 points in last week’s 27-20 victory at Jacksonville.
The defense, which scored two touchdowns in the season-opening victory over Indianapolis, and special teams units should be celebrated as effective weapons that have helped the Rams forge a 4-2 record going into their NFC West “home” game against the Cardinals.
But the offense’s inability to score touchdowns in the last three games is cause for concern.
The Rams’ offense has scored 18 touchdowns, tied for sixth in the league. However, quarterback Jared Goff has directed drives that resulted in touchdowns only four times in the last three games.
Running back Todd Gurley scored six touchdowns in the first three games, only one in the last three. And receiver Robert Woods, the team’s second-leading receiver with 22 catches, has yet to score.
McVay, the play caller, said he must do better to put his players in the right positions. The players must execute.
“It’s about scoring points,” McVay said. “We’ve got to do a better job offensively of producing touchdowns, and you know, we’ll see if we can do that on Sunday.”
Goff completed 11 of 21 passes for 124 yards against Jacksonville, all season lows. The offense scored its only touchdown on a four-yard shovel pass from Goff to tight end Gerald Everett.
Goff did not throw an interception, which has been a part of the Rams’ winning formula in all of their victories.
But McVay would like to see improvement after evaluating Goff against the Jaguars.
“There was a couple times where … he’s got to make better decisions with the football, or go where the coverage dictates based on his progression,” McVay said.
Goff failed to connect on deep passes to receiver Sammy Watkins, who scored two touchdowns in Week 3 against San Francisco but has only two receptions in the last three games.
“We’ve done it before,” Goff said of completing long passes to Watkins. “I don’t think we need to start changing anything.”
Watkins’ frustration with his role came through in social media a few weeks ago. But the fourth-year pro said this week that he was happy to leave it in the hands of the coaches.
“A couple weeks, my mind was wrapped up into it,” he said, “and it’s not good for a player to be worried about targets, or how many targets you get.”
Less than two weeks ago, the Rams thought they would be playing a Cardinals team devoid of a major backfield threat. Star David Johnson suffered a Week 1 wrist injury, and the Cardinals had not found an effective replacement.
But nine days after Peterson rushed for only four yards for the New Orleans Saints in a game in London, the Cardinals traded for the 32-year-old running back.
Peterson rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s victory over Tampa Bay. He gave the Cardinals “a bunch of juice,” McVay said.
“He can go through you; he can make you miss,” McVay said.
There is a reason Peterson’s nickname is “All Day,” Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers said. Brockers was a rookie in 2012 when Peterson rushed for 212 yards for the Minnesota Vikings against the St. Louis Rams.
“He can give it to you all day,” Brockers said. “If you let him go, he can have 293 yards. … Man, we just have to get him before he gets started.”