National Football League

Los Angeles Rams have OBJ, Von Miller and a collection of stars. But can they bring it all together?

Updated Nov. 16, 2021 3:01 p.m. ET

Possessing star power doesn't always equate to immediate results, and the Los Angeles Rams are learning that the hard way.

Despite winning the headlines in the last two weeks with the acquisitions of Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr., they have not won on the field.

In fact, they have been thoroughly dominated in their last two games, losing to the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers by an average of 16.5 points.

Despite entering their Monday Night Football matchup against the 49ers averaging 29 points per game, the Rams were only able to muster 10 points. They've been held to 26 combined points in each of their last two contests.

It hasn't just been the losses that have been concerning for the Rams, but the manner in which they have lost.

After throwing just four interceptions in the first eight games of the season, quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown another four in his last two contests, two of which have been returned for touchdowns.

The Rams now enter their bye on a two-game losing streak, and the schedule doesn't get any easier the rest of the way. They have a matchup with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field awaiting them on Nov. 28, as well as road games against the Cardinals, Ravens and Vikings left on their schedule. Each of those teams is in the playoff picture.

On top of this, the Rams have another matchup with the 49ers still to come, set for Week 18 in L.A. The 49ers have won five consecutive games against the Rams, and since Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay were hired by their respective teams, the 49ers hold a 6-3 edge.

That doesn't necessarily produce feelings of unwavering confidence as the season wears on.

And although McVay has flashed strokes of genius throughout his tenure in L.A., he's going to have tremendous work cut out for him as the team tries to integrate its slew of fresh faces.

Beckham Jr. is one of those. And for Skip Bayless, bringing him into the fold might be a lot easier said than done.

"Somewhere, Baker Mayfield is chuckling," Bayless said on Tuesday morning's episode of "Undisputed."

"Too often in Cleveland, Odell ran the wrong route, his own route, or stopped running the route. In [last night's] case, he just stopped running the route. He saw that he's basically doubled, and says ‘I got nothing here,' and watches the ball sail over his head. Mayfield will tell you, he's difficult to deal with, and a lot of times, he just decides he sees something that the quarterback doesn't, and he runs wherever he wants to go. Now he needs to be better than Robert Woods, and I just don't think he is."

Shannon Sharpe was much more sympathetic toward L.A.'s new wideout, giving a number of explanations to account for the difficulties he faced.

"I think the Rams anticipated him playing a lot more than he did, but because they fell behind, you've got to go hurry-up," Sharpe explained.

"It's hard to do that with a guy that just got there Thursday or Friday. They don't have a whole lot of chemistry. That's the problem I have with Matthew Stafford putting up the deep ball. You don't know [Beckham Jr.'s] tendencies, he doesn't know your tendencies. But they fell behind, and he doesn't understand the no-huddle, the two-minute drill. He's unplayable at that time."

Sharpe had some things to say about the team's putrid performance on defense as well.

"The bigger concern for me is the defense. They couldn't stop the run. They had no answer for Deebo Samuel. They hand the ball off to a wide receiver, and he's getting nine, 10 yards a carry. They couldn't pressure Jimmy G. He was 15 of 19, 182 yards, two TDs. The Rams are built to play with a lead. You can't play the style of football defensively, that they want to play."

Miller and Beckham Jr. are just two cogs in an enormous machine.

And right now, that machine has a litany of faulty parts. This team has to figure things out and do so expeditiously.

You can check out the full "Undisputed" debate below!

Skip Bayless on OBJ's Rams debut vs. 49ers: Baker Mayfield is chuckling; he's difficult to deal with I UNDISPUTED

Odell Beckham Jr.'s Hollywood debut ended up being a box office dud last night. The wide receiver only had 18 yards on two catches for the LA Rams. The only other time he was targeted resulted in an interception on the Rams' opening drive. LA's offense never clicked, and the San Francisco 49ers took advantage, steamrolling to a 31-10 win. Skip Bayless reacts to OBJ's low production debut and what this means for the Rams.