RAMalytics: One reason why Rams’ passing game feels anemic

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.

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…