Rams on Monday's 28-0 loss: 'It’s frustrating because that’s not us'

Rams on Monday’s 28-0 loss: ‘It’s frustrating because that’s not us’

Rams running back Todd Gurley is held to a 1-yard gain as 49ers linebacker Eli Harold brings him down in the 3rd quarter.

By Mike DiGiovanna

Sept. 13, 2016 4:55 AM PT

Reporting from Santa Clara — As badly as the Rams played Monday night, they were still within striking distance of San Francisco, trailing by 14 points late in the third quarter, when Tavon Austin returned a punt 28 yards to the 49ers 38-yard line.

Five plays later, from the San Francisco 26 — the deepest penetration of the night for the Rams offense — quarterback Case Keenum missed his target, tight end Lance Kendricks, on a short pass by a good two yards. The pass went right into the hands of 49ers linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong for an interception.

Early in the fourth quarter, Keenum swung a clean third-down pass out to the right flank. One problem: There wasn’t a receiver within 10 yards of the ball, one of the 12 times the Rams failed to convert on 15 third-down attempts.

It was that kind of night for Keenum and the Rams offense in a 28-0 season-opening loss to San Francisco in Levi’s Stadium. Keenum completed 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions, with many of his attempts bouncing short, sailing wide or well over the heads of their intended targets.

“I have to be better, I have to make better decisions, I have to give my guys chances,” Keenum said. “There were certain plays where I was thinking one thing, guys were running —”

Keenum didn’t finish his sentence, but his inference seemed clear: The quarterback and his receivers did not appear to be on the same page — or even in the same playbook — at times, but Keenum did not pass the blame.

Bill Plaschke, Sam Farmer, Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry break down the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers in a season opener at Levy’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“A lot of it’s on me,” he said. “That’s why I play quarterback, because I want the ball in my hand. When we’re not moving, it’s tough, and I’ll take the blame, because this team deserves better play from its quarterback.”

It didn’t help Keenum that the 49ers did an excellent job of bottling up Rams star running back Todd Gurley, who eked out 47 yards on 17 carries. But when a defense stacks the box in an effort to contain the run, it often becomes vulnerable to the passing game.

That wasn’t the case Monday night. The Rams couldn’t run, they couldn’t pass, and they racked up more than twice as many punting yards (431) as they did offensive yards (185). They had a red-zone efficiency of 0%. They did not take a snap inside the 49ers’ 20-yard line.

“It’s frustrating because that’s not us,” Keenum said. “There were little things here and there, the third downs, obviously … we’ve gotta stay on the field. We put a lot of pressure on our defense.”

Backup quarterback Sean Mannion warmed up several times in the second half, and Rams Coach Jeff Fisher said he “thought about” making a change, but he “just wanted Case to finish the game, if for no other reason than to get Sean some experience,” Fisher said.

Jared Goff, the former California quarterback who was the top pick in the draft last April, was inactive for the game, but even if he dresses for next week’s game against Seattle, Keenum will get another start.

“This doesn’t change anything as far as the quarterback is concerned,” Fisher said.

So he will continue with Keenum as the starter for now?

“That’s right,” Fisher said.

And if the offense continues to struggle like it did Monday night?

“Well, I’ll adjust,” Fisher said, “but I don’t expect it to continue.”

Neither did anyone in the Rams’ locker room, where there was a a curious mixture of embarrassment, frustration and … defiance.

“Everyone can say what they want about us, but at the end of the day, we will be OK,” Austin said. “We’re gonna come back to work this week, and I guarantee you, it won’t look like this again. [The 49ers] were not a better football team than us. We shot ourselves in the foot today. We’ll go back to work tomorrow and get it corrected. We’re gonna fight. This will only make us better.”

Keenum, who took over as the starter late last season and led the Rams to wins in three of their last four games, wouldn’t go so far as to guarantee the offense would improve dramatically, but he seemed more confident than hopeful.

“This team deserves better play from it’s quarterback, and I intend on doing that,” Keenum said. “This is not going to define me. It’s a big stage, and it would have been a lot of fun to win on Monday Night Football to start the season.

“But it’s a long season, and this is not us. Offensively, this is not us. We’re going to come to work tomorrow and get ready to beat the Seahawks.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna