The Rams looked unstoppable for most of the season. Defenses had no answers for Sean McVay’s brilliant system. It looked like every play call was perfect. If the defense loaded the box, the Rams had a play action dialed up. If the defense backed off, Todd Gurley would slice through the defense on an outside zone play.

In the first 11 games of the season, the Rams averaged 35.4 points per game. They scored 54 points in a thrilling Monday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Then the bye week came and something changed.

In Week 13, against the Detroit Lions, the Rams struggled to score for most of the game until scoring 14 points late in the fourth quarter to mask what was a lackluster offensive performance. The Rams won 30-16, but the Lions laid out a blueprint the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles would build on and use to bottle up McVay’s offense. The Bears held the Rams to just six points, and the next week the Eagles held them to 23…