Rams are nearing crisis with Jared Goff and mounting losses

The Los Angeles Rams believe in Jared Goff. Yes, present tense.

No front office worth a damn would sign a quarterback to a four-year, $134 million extension two years before needed to do so if it wasn’t absolutely positive about his future prospects. This is exactly what general manager Les Snead did with Goff a few months ago.

Now, there are legions of NFL pundits and Rams fans alike wondering what has happened to one of the richest men in league history. The Rams lost their third straight game on Sunday, falling 20-7 at home to the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. With the loss, Los Angeles fell two full games behind the Seattle Seahawks and 2.5 games off the pace of San Francisco in the NFC West. With losses to each already, the Rams have a serious hill to climb over their final 10 regular season affairs.

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Still, the biggest, more far-reaching concern centers on Jared Goff. The defense played well by and large against San Francisco, but Goff has his second truly horrific performance in three weeks. This time, his stat line came out to a grizzly 78 yards without a touchdown in 24 attempts. A few weeks ago, Goff turned the ball over four times in an atrocious loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At some juncture, Los Angeles needs so much more from its franchise quarterback. Last year, the Rams were the prohibitive Super Bowl favorites through the first eight games of the season. Running back Todd Gurley was a leading MVP candidate, Goff wasn’t far behind and the defense was doing just enough with splash plays.

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Fat forward a year, and none of that is happening. The defense has largely missed those enormous swings, while Goff has arguably been a middling quarterback at best when compared to his peers. Gurley, of course, is the biggest difference from a year ago. Dealing with arthritis in his knees, the former first-round pick is nowhere near the elite back he was even 12 months ago, leaving much of the pressure on Goff and his other weapons. So far, he doesn’t look capable of handling the workload.

The Rams are only 3-3, and there are still a few months to go. There’s reason to believe Goff will start playing better, beginning with a soft schedule the rest of the month. Perhaps head coach Sean McVay fixes some things schematically and the defense picks up a tick or two.

If not, Los Angeles and it’s expensive quarterback are in for a long season.