Can Rams Quarterback Jared Goff Recapture His Early-Season Form?

The team is currently atop the rugged NFC West. But all does not appear to be quite right with Sean McVay’s fifth-year signal-caller.

A season ago, the Los Angeles Rams sought to make a second straight Super Bowl appearance. In 2018, Sean McVay’s club finished 13-3, defeated the Cowboys in the divisional round and surprised the Saints at New Orleans in the NFC title game. Two weeks later at Atlanta, the club fell to the dynastic New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, ironically, by a 13-3 score.

In 2019, the club got off to a 3-0 start and appeared to be headed towards another playoff appearance. But the team would drop seven of its final 13 games. And in many of those outings, McVay’s club was blown away in losses to the Buccaneers (55-40), Ravens (45-6) and Cowboys (44-21). A 9-7 record wasn’t good enough to get the team back in the postseason.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, left, and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick speak before the NFL Super Bowl 53 football game between the Rams and the Patriots Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Some of the club’s issues as year ago could be attributed to some sloppy play by quarterback Jared Goff. He threw for 4,638 yards and hit on 62.9 percent of his throws. But he had nearly as many total turnovers (21) as touchdown passes (22). He was picked off 16 times and lost half of his 10 fumbles. The team was a bit imbalanced a year ago as the running game slumped to 26th in the league. And the Rams’ offensive line had a very inconsistent season.

Fast forward to this year and McVay’s squad won five of its first seven contests. Goff was solid during this stretch, throwing three times as many touchdown passes (12) as interceptions (4). He fumbled just twice and did not lose either of those drops. And he threw for at least two scores in five of those seven appearances.

Jared Goff Career Stats:

Year	Age	GS	QBrec	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Y/A	Rate	QBR	Sk
2016	22	7	0-7-0	54.6	1089	5	7	5.3	63.6	18.9	26
2017*	23	15	11-4-0	62.1	3804	28	7	8.0	100.5	52.1	25
2018*	24	16	13-3-0	64.9	4688	32	12	8.4	101.1	63.1	33
2019	25	16	9-7-0	62.9	4638	22	16	7.4	86.5	50.2	22
2020	26	12	8-4-0	68.4	3372	17	10	7.5	93.7	61.5	16
Care	Care	66	41-25-0	63.6	17591	104	52	7.6	92.3		122

But it’s been a far different story the last five games and while the club has won three of those games – victories over the Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Cardinals – Goff has not been up to snuff. While he’s thrown for at least 300 yards four times, there have been only five TD passes and a half-dozen interceptions. He’s thrown a pair of picks in three of those games. There have been five fumbles and he’s lost four of them. That’s 10 turnovers in five contests.

On Thursday night, the Rams host the resurgent New England Patriots and a team that has a penchant for takeaways. The clubs had forced 18 turnovers, including 14 interceptions. And Bill Belichick’s club can run the football and play keep away. But the latter may be easier said than done given the way Aaron Donald and company are playing these days. Los Angeles has allowed the second-fewest total yards in the league and only two clubs have given up fewer yards rushing. McVay’s team has 36 sacks (11 by Donald) and 20 takeaways. But the Rams also have a quarterback that has been a little careless with the football as of late…again. And he bears watching against New England’s defense in prime time.