Rams trying to work through first-quarter struggles, hope healthier O-line can help

LOS ANGELES — If the Los Angeles Rams looked like an offense starting from scratch in their loss to Miami on Monday, it’s because, in a way, they were.

The return of left guard Steve Avila from a a knee injury and center Jonah Jackson from a shoulder injury gave the Rams the interior offensive line they expected to start for the first time since the season opener at Detroit. But an absence of continuity was apparent in the 23-15 defeat, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

“Everything that happened in that game was fixable. Is fixable,” Avila said. “And we’re doing everything we can to get those things fixed.”

The Rams (4-5) took a while to figure things out after Avila was hurt against the Lions and Jackson aggravated a shoulder injury he initially sustained in training camp the following week at Arizona, eventually finding a groove with rookies Beaux Limmer at center and Justin Dedich at left guard as they got themselves back in the NFC West mix.

The return of Avila and Jackson was an upgrade in both talent and experience, but it was offset by their lack of cohesion working with each other, left tackle Alaric Jackson — who had been suspended for the first two games of the year — and right guard Kevin Dotson. Not having veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein because of an ankle injury made things that much worse.

The line’s inconsistency was apparent as quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked four times, Kyren Williams was held to 62 yards rushing, and the offense was 3 of 12 (25%) on third-down conversions.

“I thought they got better as the game went on. Felt more comfortable just with the speed of the game,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “You try to replicate it as much as you can out there on the practice field, but when it’s live bullets, it’s different. You got to get adjusted, and you got to do that fast.”

The first quarter was particularly bad, as Los Angeles averaged 1.7 yards per play and couldn’t move the chains on three third-down opportunities. Not surprisingly, the offense failed to generate a touchdown in the opening 15 minutes for the eighth time.

The Rams are 31st in scoring in the first quarter, averaging 1.4 points per game. Only Chicago (1.1) is worse.

“We’re not getting it done, you know, early in games for whatever reason,” LaFleur said. "If we obviously had that answer, we wouldn’t be in this spot right now. But whether it’s the first quarter, fourth quarter, whatever play it’s going to be, this game is about execution and toughness. And right now, I’m not questioning any of our guys’ toughness or them going for it, but we’re just not getting it done early in games. And we need to fix that for sure.”

The run offense is also scuffling, ranking second to last in the league at 3.76 yards per carry. Williams has one 100-yard performance this season, a far cry from his six such outings during a breakout 2023.

LaFleur stressed the need for everyone to execute at a high level for the offense to succeed, especially with the ground game.

“Within all facets of offense, but particularly the run game, it takes all 11,” LaFleur said. “So this is isn’t one person’s problem right now with the way we’re running the football. It’s all of our problem, starting with coaching. We got to get it fixed on our end first, the players will follow suit. We’re working at it, and these guys want to get things fixed. And it starts on days like today when you get the pads on, practicing with a purpose, so that it can become game reality on Sunday.”

With a full game under his belt, Avila is confident the line, and the offense as a whole, will be better at New England (3-7) on Sunday.

“If you were to just put it to one word, how that game went, it would just be execution. We just weren’t passing things off,” Avila said. “It was embarrassing, that being my first game. But it’s not even that. I’m more encouraged than I am embarrassed.”

NOTES: Havenstein and swing tackle Joe Noteboom (ankle) each missed practice for the second straight day, increasing the likelihood Warren McClendon Jr. will start at right tackle against the Patriots.