The Los Angeles Rams offense couldn’t produce a win, falling 23-15 to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, snapping a three-game winning streak.

“They were just negative plays at the wrong time,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said, via the Associated Press. “Whether it was a turnover, a sack or an inefficient play on first down, whatever it was, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the offensive zone at the 30-yard line. And that was the difference in the game.”

After two three-and-outs and an interception to open the game, the Rams moved the ball and got into Dolphins territory on each of their last seven drives, but settled for six field goal attempts (five make).

Stafford took a few bad sacks that stalled drives, the offense never felt in sync and the run game only got going for a brief moment in the third quarter. The red zone and key-down problems were magnified. LA went 0-3 in the red zone and 3-12 on third downs. An inability to sustain drifts coupled with a failure to finish is a bad combination.

“There was no complementary football whatsoever,” coach Sean McVay said. “Defensively, I was happy with the way we played. I thought we were able to limit them, create some negative plays, get some turnovers and give short fields to the offense. Ultimately, we weren’t able to capitalize.”

The Rams produced their first game without a touchdown since Week 9, 2023, against Green Bay (20-3 loss started by QB Brett Rypien). Monday was the second game Stafford started with the Rams in which the team failed to score a touchdown (other: Week 4, 2022, at San Francisco).

The offensive line returns starters Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson, but struggled to protect Stafford early. Overall, Stafford was pressured on 30.6% of dropbacks, around his season average, but he recorded three sacks in the first half (four total). The inability to protect early underlines the idea that it takes time for lines to gel after so little cooperation.

Even as the protection improved, the Rams couldn’t penetrate the end zone. LA became the only NFL team in the Super Bowl era to attempt a field goal on each of their last six drives in a game despite trailing by more than three points on each drive, according to Opta Stats.

“I felt like it was a little loose at first, but as the game went on I thought we were able to protect better, which gave us a chance to hang on for some drives,” McVay said. “Ultimately, we couldn’t finish in the red zone. It felt like there were a bunch of bodies at the point of attack, especially on some of those early third downs.”

The loss dropped the Rams to 4-5. McVay’s club is currently third in the NFC West and 10th in the conference. LA will need to get back on track in Week 11 when they travel to New England to face the Patriots.