Los Angeles Rams

7 Takeaways From Los Angeles Rams Week 1 Loss to San Francisco 49ers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:10 p.m. ET

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Here’s seven takeaways from the frustrating loss by the Los Angeles Rams to the San Francisco 49ers.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) runs the ball as San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) defends in the third quarter at Levi

The Los Angeles Rams entered Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season hoping to get off to a hot start with a road win against the San Francisco 49ers. Instead, the Rams not only found a way to lose their regular-season opener, but managed to do so in embarrassing fashion.

Los Angeles fell to their division rivals 28-0 in a game that can only be described as frustrating for Jeff Fisher’s squad. From struggling to convert on third down to numerous players on offense failing to step up, this turned out to be a game the Rams would like to forget as soon as possible.

After finishing near the bottom of the league in total offense last year, Los Angeles didn’t provide fans with much hope when it comes to improvements for the upcoming season. With a tough matchup against the Seattle Seahawks scheduled for Week 2, here’s a look at seven takeaways from the Rams loss to the 49ers on Monday.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) rushes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL game at Levi

Todd Gurley’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct

If Todd Gurley is going to be a leader of this offense, he has to avoid costly penalties that should easily be avoided.

After converting on an impressive fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, Gurley was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after tossing the football at one of the players from the 49ers that resulted in a 15-yard penalty. To top it off, Case Keenum threw an interception on the very next play to turn the drive into a complete waste.

Gurley needs to realize how costly these mistakes are if he’s going to one of the leaders on offense. The interception may not have been Gurley’s fault, but it certainly didn’t help that Keenum felt extra pressure to get into better field position thanks to his teammate’s actions causing a 15-yard penalty.

With the new ejection rules regarding players receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, Gurley is going to have to be extra careful when it comes to controlling his actions on the football field. Otherwise, the second-year running back is going to hurt his teammates when he finds himself ejected one of these games.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during a NFL game at Levi

First Half to Forget

Last year, the Rams ranked near the bottom of the league on offense, and even though it’s only been one game, early signs point to the team taking a similar path once again for the 2016 season.

To say the offense for Los Angeles was a disaster in the first half against San Francisco would be one of the biggest understatements of the year. From 87 total yards to the team going 1-of-8 on third down conversions, the Rams arguably displayed the most embarrassing half of offensive football from Week 1, and it wasn’t even close.

It was obvious the offense needed improvement after last year, but nobody could have predicted the first game to be this bad. To top it off, Blaine Gabbert recorded more rushing yards (40) than Gurley (28) in the first half.

That’s not a misread; that’s how bad things were for the Rams in the first half.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) reacts during the second half of an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

Aaron Donald’s Ejection

There’s absolutely no excuse for Aaron Donald‘s actions towards the end of Monday’s game–simply as that.

Steve Young said it best during the broadcast about how no player works harder than Donald, and to see the defensive tackle let his emotions get the best of him was frustrating to see. As if making contact with an official wasn’t already low enough, Donald was caught on camera grabbing the neck of Quinton Patton before slamming his helmet on the field following the announcement of his ejection.

After recording 20 sacks over the last two seasons, Donald is going to be a key factor in how successful the Rams’ defense is going to be in 2016, and the last thing the team can afford is a suspension for their star defender.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Donald still won’t be hearing from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at some point this week to most likely discuss some sort of fine in regards to his actions from Monday.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) dives against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) during the first quarter at Lev

Case Keenum’s Poor Performance

One of the most interesting battles on the Rams from the preseason was between Case Keenum and Jared Goff at quarterback. While Keenum was the easy choice for Fisher when considering how much Goff struggled under center, Los Angeles finds themselves in an interesting position heading into Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.

After Keenum struggled against San Francisco by completing just 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions, there’s already debate about whether Fisher should go with Goff against the Seahawks instead. Nothing against the 49ers’ defense, but if Keenum performed like this in Week 1, just imagine what could be in store if the veteran continues to start against one of the league’s top defenses in Seattle.

The fact that Keenum couldn’t lead the offense to scoring a single point along with the Rams converting just 3-of-15 third-down attempts proves he may not be the answer at quarterback. Fisher may not want to admit it at the current moment, but don’t be surprised if the head coach at least considers the possibility of starting Goff next weekend.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) runs the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter at Levi

Frustrations Continue With Tavon Austin

After failing to record a catch during the preseason, Rams fans were hoping Tavon Austin was just waiting until the regular season to finally shine on offense. Los Angeles did everything in their power to get Austin involved as much as possible on offense and special teams, but the former first-round pick just couldn’t seem to get anything going.

For reasons that can’t be explained, the Rams rewarded Austin with a hefty four-year extension during preseason, and despite scoring 10 touchdowns last year, it’s easy to see the team is overpaying the wideout big time. Austin may be the type of threat capable of being dangerous in multiple ways, but the one factor that sticks out the most is he’s never even broken the 500-yard mark as a wide receiver.

Against the 49ers, Austin caught just four passes for 13 yards while returning four punts for a total of 38 yards. When looking at the money Austin is making, let’s hope these numbers improve beginning next weekend against the Seahawks.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher on the field before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lev

Only Week 1 Team With Zero Points

As if being shutout against San Francisco wasn’t already embarrassing enough, Los Angeles turned out to be the only team from Week 1 that failed to record a single point.

Everybody knew there were plenty of concerns surrounding the Rams on offense heading into Monday night, but nobody could have expected things to be this bad. Even a touchdown in garbage time or a field goal at some point would have given this team the slightest bit of confidence heading into their Week 2 matchup.

Instead, Los Angeles enters next weekend as the only team in the league still looking to record their first points of the 2016 season. Just when it seems like the Rams couldn’t hit a new low, this whole thing happens.

For the sake of the fans excited about the team’s return to Los Angeles, let’s hope the offense can avoid what happened last year, and at least find a way to provide their city with something to cheer about.

Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt (18) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers right cornerback Jimmie Ward (25) in the second quarter at Levi

Kenny Britt Was Only Positive Takeaway

Rams fans remember Torry Holt, and the impact he had in the passing game during his 10 years with the team. What fans may not realize is Holt is the last player from the Rams to record a 1,000-yard season.

That year was 2007–so it’s definitely been a long time.

It’s sad to think how long it’s been since Los Angeles had a 1,000-yard receiver on the team, and with the way the team looked against San Francisco, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they went all of 2016 without one. However, if there was one individual who had a good shot at putting that embarrassing streak to an end, it would be Kenny Britt.

Throughout the preseason, Britt was the one player in the passing game who seemed to always find ways to get involved right away, and that was the case against the 49ers. Britt may have only finished the game with four catches for 67 yards, but he seems like a much better candidate to break the mark when compared to Austin.