SEATTLE -- Two meaningless runs, two vicious blows -- all in a span of four days.

Rookie quarterback Jared Goff is getting hit way too much.

"Most definitely," Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley said after Thursday's 24-3 loss, the team's ninth in a span of 10 games. "Definitely getting hit too much. Gotta protect him, man. Can’t have our quarterback on the ground. Just can’t."

On Sunday, with his team trailing by 35 points and less than three minutes remaining, the Rams called a quarterback keeper that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run, but Goff was sandwiched by two defenders at the goal line. On Thursday, with about nine minutes left and his team trailing by 21 points, Goff escaped pressure, sprinted 15 yards up the sideline and failed to get out of bounds before Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman sprinted full speed and knocked the 22-year-old out of bounds.

Goff left the game under the NFL's concussion protocol, and though teammates deemed him fine after the game, it was the last thing the 4-10 Rams needed to see out of the 2016 No. 1 overall pick.

"You admire his courage," Rams interim coach John Fassel said, "but you just have to get out of bounds."

Jared Goff was sacked four more times Thursday night in Seattle. Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports

It was only the last of an assortment of hits Goff took Thursday at CenturyLink Field.

Said Gurley: "I felt like they should’ve been checking on him between the five or six sacks he already took, and all the hits."

Goff was actually sacked four times, but he was hit three other times and was again consistently hurried behind his suspect offensive line. He took only one sack against the Miami Dolphins in his NFL debut. Since then, Goff has been sacked 14 times in four games. That averages out to 56 sacks over a full season. Throughout NFL history, there have only been 13 instances when a quarterback was sacked more often than that.

"It's kind of what you would expect with a new quarterback," Rams center Tim Barnes said of the pressure Goff is facing. "We've been struggling picking up all kinds of blitzes, and obviously we know they're going to try and do that. But we just have to do a better job. We have to do a better job blocking, and do our job first, then worry about our team second."

Goff -- who also delivered a block when Tavon Austin changed course on a handoff -- again didn't do a whole lot through the air, going 13-of-25 for 135 yards to put his Total QBR at a dreadful 24.1 through his first five games.

But again, he also didn't get much help.

The Rams dropped three passes in the first half on Sunday and as many as seven against the New England Patriots seven days earlier, with two of those leading directly to interceptions. On Thursday, veteran tight end Lance Kendricks dropped the first pass of the game, and rookie wide receiver Mike Thomas soon dropped an easy pass while wide open down the field for what would've been about a 45-yard gain and potentially a touchdown. There were also several instances when Goff and his receivers miscommunicated, most notably when Brian Quick was wide open in the end zone and Goff threw way behind him.

The Rams' offense -- last in the NFL in first downs, yards, points and pretty much any other major stat -- ultimately failed to score a touchdown for the fourth time this season, tops in the NFL.

And a lot of that falls outside of Goff.

"He needs to continue to excel," Rams left guard Rodger Saffold said. "Once again, missed opportunities. He's had some great balls down the field that we lost that could have put us in the lead. But you have to be able to continue to play after that. He made some good plays, he stood in, took some hits. He showed that he wants to run and try to put us in the best position possible. He wanted to come back in [after Sherman's hit], but at that point we're losing. It's time to rest."