It is getting harder to trust the Rams.
asserted
It → get → Rams
Harder to believe the next promising possession signals a breakthrough.
asserted
possession → believe → breakthrough
Harder to watch their talent flash across the screen and assume they are finally figuring things out.
asserted
they → watch → things
Harder to take their championship ambitions seriously when they keep playing football that undermines them.
asserted
that → take → them
Too susceptible to the kind of killer mistakes that turn opportunity into regret.
asserted
that → turn → regret
Those are the characteristics of a team that has not shown it is serious enough to win a championship.
asserted
it → show → championship
And until the Rams demonstrate otherwise, consistently and convincingly, why should anyone view them differently?
asserted
anyone → demonstrate → them
Monday night’s 37-34 overtime loss to the Bills was another reason to question whether this team can be trusted to do anything beyond periodically reminding everyone how good it could be.
uncertain
it → question → everyone
The possibilities remain obvious, including segments and stretches that offered a clear view of just how majestic the Rams can be.
asserted
Rams → remain → view
So do the special teams’ carelessness, like the two missed field goals by Harrison Mevis, including the potential game-winner in overtime that got batted away by Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau.
asserted
that → do → Rousseau
The Bills made them pay by driving into range for Tyler Bass to kick a 48-yard game-winning field goal.
And how about the lack of discipline that led to 11 penalties for 84 yards, a handful of which directly led to important points for the Bills, to turn what could have been a satisfying win into a gut-wrenching loss.
uncertain
what → make → loss
Five games into the season, the 2-3 Rams should be tired of hearing about their potential.
asserted
Rams → hear → potential
Everyone else is getting tired of waiting for them to do something meaningful with it.
asserted
them → get → it
Yes, there are stretches when they resemble the team we expected.
asserted
we → be → team
A sequence when the offense finds its rhythm and the talent becomes overwhelming.
asserted
talent → find → rhythm
Then comes another penalty.
asserted
penalty → come → ?
Another reason to throw the sofa pillow at the television and wonder why everything has to be so difficult.
asserted
everything → throw → television
At some point, those glimpses stop being encouraging.
asserted
glimpses → stop → point
They become an indictment.
asserted
They → become → ?
Because if the Rams can play that way, why do they keep burying it beneath so much avoidable nonsense?
asserted
they → play → nonsense
The trouble Monday began before their offense touched the football.
asserted
offense → begin → football
Buffalo opened with a 70-yard kickoff return, immediately forcing the Rams’ defense to clean up a mess it had no part in creating.
asserted
it → open → part
The defense held the Bills to a field goal.
asserted
defense → hold → goal
Buffalo led 3-0, gifted favorable field position and an immediate foothold in a game the Rams needed to build on their victory over the Eagles.
asserted
Rams → lead → Eagles
The offense then took its turn complicating things.
asserted
offense → take → things
Two penalties interrupted the Rams’ opening possession.
asserted
penalties → interrupt → possession
The most damaging was a holding call against tight end Tyler Higbee that erased a nine-yard run and a first down by Kyren Williams.
asserted
that → erase → Williams
Instead of a fresh set of downs and another opportunity to move toward the end zone, the Rams were pushed backward.
asserted
Rams → move → zone
Mevis eventually missed a 50-yard field goal.
asserted
Mevis → miss → goal
A possession that had offered promise produced nothing.
asserted
that → offer → nothing
How about the two defensive penalties that kept Buffalo’s third-quarter touchdown drive alive?
asserted
that → keep → drive
First, Quentin Lake’s pass interference penalty turned first-and-20 into a fresh set of downs.
asserted
penalty → turn → downs
Then Josh Wallace’s holding penalty on third-and-goal from the 13 handed Josh Allen and the Bills first-and-goal at the 2.
asserted
penalty → hand → 2
Buffalo scored two plays later to take a 19-14 lead.
asserted
Buffalo → score → lead
The Bills had enough weapons.
asserted
Bills → have → weapons
They did not need the Rams’ help.
asserted
They → need → help
The Bills deserve credit for their victory.
asserted
Bills → deserve → victory
But the Rams should be embarrassed by how often they contributed to their own difficulties.
asserted
they → embarrass → difficulties
They were penalized on three of their first four offensive possessions.
asserted
They → penalize → possessions
On the only possession without a penalty, they scored a touchdown.
asserted
they → score → touchdown
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
