Months removed from winning the Super Bowl in their home stadium, Jalen Ramsey and the Los Angeles Rams find themselves at a crossroads.
Los Angeles currently sits at 3-5 and in third place in the NFC West. The team is coming off an ugly road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has now lost four of five.
Sunday’s defeat against Tom Brady and Co. was capped off by the Rams’ defense allowing the seven-time Super Bowl champion to lead his questionable offense down the field on a six-play, 60-yard touchdown-scoring drive to win the game late in the fourth quarter. For his part, Ramsey was targeted multiple times by Brady, yielding a couple completions in the process.
All of this came after Los Angeles’ defense seemingly won the game earlier in the fourth quarter by forcing a Buccaneers turnover on downs with under two minutes remaining. However, a Rams three-and-out give the ball back to Tampa for that ultimate game-winning drive. Ramsey apparently isn’t too happy about it, either.
“The defense should not have had to go back on the field. Simple. Gotta have some dogs who are gonna go get it. We shouldn’t come to the sideline after a big stop like that and our coaches or the other side or whoever telling us, ‘We gonna to need y’all one more time,” Jalen Ramsey after latest Los Angeles Rams loss. “We gonna to need y’all one more time.’ Like what the f—? We just made a big stop, turnover on downs, with a minute and some change left and no timeouts for nobody.”
Ramsey is not necessarily wrong here. Los Angeles’ defense held the Buccaneers to three points through three quarters. However, Matthew Stafford and Co. struggled on the other side to the tune of 206 total yards in the game. The Rams also put up all of one yard of offense in the fourth quarter.
“Gotta have some dogs who are like, man, f— all that, we are going to end this game right now. Good stop. We are going to end the game for y’all. We gotta play off each other in that sense,” Ramsey said. “You know what I mean? That’s what I mean by we should not have had to go out there. It is what it is. It ain’t the first time that this has happened. This has happened multiple times this year, really. S—.”
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Jalen Ramsey voicing rightful frustration for the Los Angeles Rams
It’s no surprise that Ramsey is the most boisterous member of the Rams during these trying times. He’s passionate about the on-field product. He’s also seeing what everyone is is witnessing as this team struggles to remain relevant on offense.
Heading into a Week 10 matchup with the division-rival Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles ranks 29th in the NFL in scoring at 16.4 points per game. That’s north of 11 points fewer per outing than a season ago.
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The Rams rank in the bottom half of the league in passing, 31st in rushing and 31st in total offense. For their part, the Rams’ defense still remains in the top eight in total yards allowed. Though, Ramsey himself has struggled more in coverage than we’ve seen in the past.
- Jalen Ramsey stats 2022): 63.3% completion, 94.3 QB rating allowed
For comparison’s sake, Ramsey gave up a 59% completion and a 71.1 QB rating a season ago. Perhaps, this has more to do with the Rams’ defense pressing because it knows the other side of the ball has been a dumpster fire.
As it is, Los Angeles has to get this thing right in short order if it wants to even earn a spot in the playoffs. With a 1-2 record in the NFC West and two losses to the San Francisco 49ers mixed in, getting a win Week 10 against Arizona is now vital.