The Los Angeles Rams haven't resembled a championship-caliber team over the past two weeks -- blame it on a pair of primetime losses, and uninspiring performances from veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.
In letdowns against the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers, Stafford undelivered, throwing a combined four interceptions with two touchdowns. To make matters worse, the Rams' offense only scored 26 combined points, their second-fewest in a two-game span under head coach Sean McVay.
"As much as people love Stafford, in big games against winning teams, he just doesn't produce," former league executive and current NFL Network analyst Marc Ross told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Wednesday. "It always got excused away in Detroit for certain reasons, but now we're seeing the trend as well with the Rams. Some quarterbacks, it's not in their DNA to produce in big games, no matter how much talent he has, how much McVay loves him."
Stafford's honeymoon phase with the Rams was to their liking. Through eight games, the 33-year-old veteran performed at an MVP level, with 2,477 yards, 22 touchdowns, four picks, and a 68.9 completion percentage in seven wins. Over the past two games, however, Stafford has looked like a shell of himself, with just 536 passing yards and a 64.0 completion percentage.
Following the Rams' blowout loss to the 49ers on Monday, Stafford owned up to his mistakes, telling reporters that "turnovers really killed us." In the team's Week 9 loss to the Titans, Stafford committed two first-half turnovers, one of which was a pick-six. Much to the Rams' chagrin, he did the exact same thing against San Francisco, and it dug them into an early hole.
Los Angeles (7-3), which still owns the fifth-seed in the NFC playoff picture, has entered its Week 11 bye, and will visit the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 28. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Rams currently have an 86-percent chance to reach the playoffs and a 17-percent chance to win the NFC West.
The entire NFL conversation between Ross and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.