It was about 12 hours after his team blew numerous opportunities in an overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and Rams coach Sean McVay was still kicking himself.
And lamenting his team’s troubled kicking game.
“That has been a killer for us,” McVay said Friday during a videoconference with reporters, “and it’s cost us two games.”
The Rams are 3-2, with defeats by the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers due in part to woeful execution on field-goal and extra-point attempts.
The Eagles beat the Rams by blocking two field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter, including a potential winning kick that they returned for a touchdown on the final play.
On Thursday night, Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed a long field-goal attempt, and the 49ers blocked an extra-point try. That’s four points lost in a 26-23 defeat. Karty, who has been masterful at dropping hard-to-handle knuckleball kickoffs into the landing zone, also misplaced a kick that gave the 49ers the ball at the 40-yard line.
Karty, however, does not appear to be McVay’s most pressing kick-related concern.
The kicking unit as a whole has played a major role in both defeats, which also featured poor execution by the Rams at times in other areas.
“I can’t remember feeling much more disgusted waking up after a tough loss, than I have after the two that we’ve had,” McVay said.
So how do the Rams fix their kicking problems?
“Oh man,” McVay said. “I wish it was just one thing but when you watch the protection — we’ve got to fix it. And it’s not one thing in particular.
“There’s different locations and spots and people that have not executed the way that we’re capable of.”
After the Rams defeated the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, McVay thought the Rams had addressed their issues.
“Clearly, I was not right on that,” McVay said, “so we’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to go back to work.”
The Rams are off for the weekend, and they will return on Monday to begin preparations for a game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. After that game, the Rams will remain in Baltimore to prepare for their next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
“We’re a couple execution plays away from being a 5-0 team,” McVay said. “But the reality is we’re 3-2.”
McVay sounded confident that the Rams would rebound from the loss to the 49ers.
“This is going to galvanize us,” he said. “I promise you that.”
Etc.
McVay continued to lament his final play call against the 49ers, which did not give quarterback Matthew Stafford a chance to make a play. Stafford had moved the Rams into position to win the game, but on fourth and one at the 49ers’ 11-yard line, McVay called a running play. The 49ers stopped Kyren Williams for no gain, ending the game. “I know it wasn’t the best decision to take the ball out his hands in crunch time on that fourth down,” McVay said. … Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson, a second-round draft pick, caught his first pass for a 21-yard gain. “We’ve got to be able to figure out a way to get him going,” McVay said, adding, “he’s going to be a really good player for us.” … McVay indicated the Rams might make moves to improve the cornerback group. “We’re going to look into those things,” he said.
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