RAMalytics: One reason why Rams’ passing game feels anemic

One can attempt to mistakenly place blame for the Los Angeles Rams’ 1-2 start on either injuries or officiating. The real reason for LA’s shortcomings are the fact that their key players are not performing at star levels.

Matthew Stafford has objectively been one of the worst quarterbacks in football so far. He’s certainly better than that and will likely rebound at some point. Colby Parkinson is on a milk carton instead of the box score. The offensive line has overall taken a step back in pass protection. Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Byron Young, and even Aaron Donald have disappointed on the defensive line. Nate Landman still hasn’t regained his early season magic from a year ago.

For right now let’s focus on the Rams’ anemic passing attack.

The theme of the 2026 NFL season is that defenses aim to take limit explosives and force opposing offenses to remain patient and live off short passes. This excerpt from Ted Nguyen at The Athletic helps set the scene.

Offenses have loaded up on bigger bodies this offseason and seem to be gearing up to focus more on the running game, but can they force defenses to cycle back into putting a safety in the box? After speaking with defensive coaches, the collective answer was, surprisingly, no. Two-high defenses are here to stay. Quarterbacks and receivers are simply too good. Finding ways to slow the run, while making it hard to create explosive pass plays, is the key to modern defenses. Even if one or two teams become so explosive on the ground they force defenses to put the extra safety in the box, those offenses won’t be enough to change the defensive meta…

According to defensive coaches, the evolution will continue with defenses finding ways to slow down the run game with light boxes, confusing the quarterback and scheming ways to attack protection plans. Putting an extra safety in the box simply creates too much risk for defenses for the league to cycle back in that direction.

Pete Prisco from CBS Sports takes this analysis a step further. Offenses are stringing together longer drives. That takes more time off the clock. Ultimately each team has fewer possessions, fewer opportunities to score, and the margin between win and loss has never been tighter:

What in the hell has happened to the NFL passing game?

This was a league that once saw 5,000-yard passers, big downfield numbers, quarterbacks who let it fly, and coaches who weren’t afraid to let them do it. But last year, the average passing yards per game for NFL teams was the lowest since 2008…

Think about this: NFL teams averaged just 209.7 passing yards per game last season, and just 10 years prior to that, teams averaged 243.8 yards per game. That’s a significant drop. In 2015, the league averaged 10.8 yards per catch. Last season, it was 10.2…

That is spreading throughout the league. Make offenses be patient and make them drive the field. Fans love the big plays. Offensive coaches and players do, too, but getting them now almost means yards after catch rather than the ball in the air.

What happened to the Rams specifically?

As Prisco pointed out, yards after catch are at a premium. LA’s best YAC receiver, Puka Nacua, has missed two of three games. Terrance Ferguson is probably their next best pass catcher in this facet, and he was a nonfactor in Week 1 before exiting early in the third game. Nacua could return in Week 4 but Ferguson is unlikely to recover in time.

Davante Adams is somehow 11th in the NFL in YAC with 105 yards after the catch point. It’s not necessarily something you would expect him to do well, but then again the ageless wonder Travis Kelce leads all players with 155 yards. Part of Adams’ success is volume. He’s 10th in receptions, fifth in targets, and ranks 26th in YAC/reception among all players with at least 17 targets.

And then there are the quarterback and play caller.

One thing is certain about Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford: both love long, vertical throws and make their living on explosive plays. Neither have historically demonstrated much of a knack for the short passing game. It’s not how they want to play, generally speaking.

But 43.2% of Stafford’s attempts have come within 0-9 yards this season. That ranks 22nd among the 36 quarterbacks that meet the qualifying 20% target threshold. On such plays, Stafford ranks 32nd in Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing grade.

Stafford has completed 37 of 48 passes (77.1%) for 320 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 0 big-time throws, and 2 turnover-worthy plays in this category. LA’s signal caller is ninth in attempts between zero and nine yards. He’s 11th in first downs. His average depth of target of 3.9 yards on such plays puts him 30th in this group, so when Stafford is throwing short it’s usually very short.

More telling is the company in the same range as him plus those at the top of the list.

Towards the bottom:

Bo Nix (26th; 60.3) – regressed notably from last season
Malik Willis (27th; 58.0) – not yet an established starter
Jordan Love (28th; 57.0) – one of the most disappointing players in 2026
Jalen Hurts (30th; 54.1) – in a new offense and struggling
Matthew Stafford (32nd; 53.5)
Joe Burrow (33rd; 52.7) – winning but not lighting up the scoreboard
Sam Darnold (34th; 49.3) – struggled in first game back from injury

At the top:

Drew Lock (6th; 81.2) – earned big offseason money

At risk of oversimplification, those who excel in the short passing game are best-suited to succeed in today’s NFL. Defenses want quarterbacks to live and die by the deep ball. Those who can repeatedly take what the opposition is giving them over and over again without growing impatient will prevail.

The short passing game has never been a strength or the Rams’ bread and butter under Sean McVay. It is something that needs to improve in order for LA’s passing game to right the ship. We will continue to gauge progress and check on this trend as we collect more information.

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