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Lindsey ThiryESPN
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Los Angeles Rams retreated into the visitor’s locker room Sunday following a 38-26 loss to the Green Bay Packers as “Go Pack Go” chants echoed throughout Lambeau Field.
Shortly after, cornerback Jalen Ramsey stood at a podium and fielded questions for 10 minutes, confirming what quickly became apparent after the Rams dropped a third straight game.
“It’s not a good mood,” Ramsey said. “I can say that.”
The Rams have gone all-in to build a roster capable of a Super Bowl run that includes quarterback Matthew Stafford, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, Ramsey, plus recent additions of outside linebacker Von Miller and receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
However, with six games remaining, the Rams find themselves amid only the second three-game losing streak in Sean McVay’s five seasons as coach.
Ramsey admitted he felt shocked that a previously 7-1 team could slip to 7-4, as they’ve lost by an average of 13.7 points to the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Packers.
“Of course I am,” Ramsey said. “We have guys that are way too good for us to be losing games like this and losing games on the road. We’ve just got to get it right. We have to play better, everything has to be better because we’re too good to be losing games like this but we’re not playing like we’re that good right now, so we got to correct our stuff.”
The Rams are 1-4 against teams with winning records and 6-0 against all other teams this season. They’ve also struggled when falling behind, dropping to 1-4 when trailing by double digits.
McVay said he was “absolutely not” concerned that the season was spiraling out of control.
“We’ve got to stop with some of these self-inflicted wounds and that’s going to continue to be a focus and concentration for us,” McVay said. “And then expect to see some results.”
Among the self-inflicted wounds Sunday, Stafford continued a recent trend of turnovers as he lost a sack fumble in the first quarter and later threw a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown to give the Packers a 36-17 third-quarter lead.
The 13th-year quarterback has committed six turnovers, including throwing five interceptions — three of which have been returned for touchdowns, in the last three games. Stafford’s three pick-six passes are the most in the NFL this season and he’s the first quarterback to put together such a streak since Matt Schaub went four straight games throwing a pick-six in 2013.
“You have to take them all individually,” Stafford said about his recent turnovers. “I know that is probably tough for you guys to hear, but that is the truth of the matter. That’s the way I see it.”
“I have total confidence and belief in Matthew Stafford,” McVay said. “And everybody wants to throw out, ‘six turnovers,’ all of those turnovers have a totally different story and not all of those are his fault.”
Against the Packers, Stafford also completed a 79-yard pass for a touchdown to second-year pro Van Jefferson and threw a 54-yard pass for a touchdown to Beckham for his first score as a Ram and first touchdown since Oct. 4, 2020.
Stafford finished 21-of-38 for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns, with an interception. He said after the game that his physical health has not affected his play.
“I am feeling fine,” said Stafford, who did not practice before a Week 9 loss to the Titans because of a back issue and then rolled an ankle late in that game. “Back was kind of barking at me a little bit that week, but I haven’t missed any time since then. The rest of my body, is it 100 percent? No, nor is anybody else’s in this league at this point of the season.”
Defensively against the Packers, the Rams struggled at times to get off the field as quarterback Aaron Rodgers picked apart the middle of the unit on third downs, similar to the tactics deployed in Week 10 by Niners coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Rodgers completed 28-of-45 passes for 307 yards with 2 touchdowns and also kept the ball for a one-yard score as the Packers improved to 9-2.
“Offenses are definitely trying to get matchups where they think maybe best for them, they’re definitely trying to scheme up things a little bit differently to have us potentially playing things a little bit differently,” Ramsey said. “I mean, they’re doing their homework.”
The Rams return to Los Angeles to play the 2-9 Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday before they travel to Phoenix for Monday Night Football to play the division-leading 9-2 Cardinals, who soundly defeated them, 37-20, in Week 4.