The Los Angeles Rams went into Week 5 ranked 13th in the NFL in red zone efficiency. They were scoring touchdowns on 58 percent of their trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Not terrible, but certainly not what you’d expect from the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL.

After their disappointing 16-10 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, the Rams now rank 24th in that department with a 47.8 percent touchdown rate.

This is something everyone knows, including Jared Goff and the coaching staff.

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“We got into the red zone and we didn’t do a very good job. And that’s what shows up,” Goff said after the game. “I think if you see why Seattle’s been so good for so long with what they do defensively and gave us issues all day.”

Knowing the red zone offense was an issue, the Rams decided to go with a different approach around the goal line: Take the ball out of Todd Gurley’s hands. Bold strategy, huh? Well, it didn’t work, unsurprisingly.

On the Rams’ 12 red zone plays, Gurley touched the ball one time. That play resulted in a fumble into the pylon, resulting in a change of possession with the ball going back to Seattle. That’s the only time Gurley touched the ball inside the 20-yard line.

The Rams ran 12 red-zone plays. Todd Gurley touched the ball once, on his near-touchdown-but-fumble. — Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) October 9, 2017

Los Angeles made five trips into the red zone against the Seahawks, but only one of those possessions ended with points. Greg Zuerlein made a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 10-0 in favor of the Rams, but that was the only time Los Angeles scored any points in the red zone – the very place where you’re supposed to score at least three per trip.

Here’s how their other trips inside the 20 went: Gurley’s fumble, missed 36-yard field goal, interception by Goff and a turnover on downs to essentially end the game. Not ideal.

It wasn’t just the red zone that Gurley was a non-factor. He hardly had the ball in his hands at all. Coming into the game, he was averaging a league-high 26.5 touches per game. On Sunday, he only touched it 16 times, totaling 50 yards.

After the first quarter, Gurley only carried it seven times after having seven attempts alone in the first 15 minutes.

“It’s kind of what it is. You can’t get the ball every time,” Gurley said after the game. “We have a lot of great playmakers. Even though I didn’t get the ball, you see the situation we were still in. I’ve just got to do a better job of just going out there and making plays. If I make plays, then I get the ball.”

Gurley has been the Rams’ best playmaker this season, so it was curious to see how quickly McVay went away from him despite it being a close game for all 60 minutes. McVay said it wasn’t anything Gurley did, but said it was the way the game went that led him to decrease his running back’s touches.

“The flow of the game kind of dictates and determines whatever plays we feel like are going to work best,” McVay said. “Obviously, we know what a special player Todd is, but given some of the things that they were presenting, we felt like there were some other chances with some different things, but nothing that Todd wasn’t doing. It was just more of matter of some of the decisions that we made and that I made as far as the play selection.”

No matter who gets the ball in the red zone – it should be Gurley more often than not – the Rams have to figure out a way to correct the offense in that part of the field. Aside from their five turnovers, it’s the main reason the Rams weren’t able to come away with a win.