INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Just as the Los Angeles Rams appeared to address their problems scoring touchdowns in the red zone, the offense discovered another problem hindering them.

Turnover. Way too many of them.

And they turned out to be the difference in a 24-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

“You know, I think we moved the ball well between the 20s,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We just didn’t score enough points. And it’s the name of the game in this league, you know. I have to score points, I have to take care of the football.

“I think we can be better in both areas.”

The Rams (1-4) lost a fumble and threw an interception in Packers territory on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Green Bay (3-2) converted both points into touchdowns and then held off a fourth-quarter push, giving Los Angeles its worst start in five games since 2014, which also marked Sean McVay’s worst finish in his eight seasons. coach.

Running back Kyren Williams had the ball cleared at the Packers 23 and safety Xavier McKinney recovered it. Two plays later, Tucker Kraft had a 66-yard catch-and-run touchdown, putting Green Bay up 17-13.

The Rams mounted an effective response, only for Stafford to throw the ball into double coverage on third down. McKinney came up with the pick and the Packers delivered another drive, capped by Jordan Love’s touchdown pass to Kraft, to make it an 11-point lead.

Los Angeles had two lost fumbles and two interceptions through its first four games. Are only win against San Francisco in week 3 came when the offense didn’t give the ball away.

“Sometimes you can overcome that, but most of the time you can’t,” McVay said.

Previous single-digit losses were defined by the Rams’ struggles to score touchdowns inside the 20, going 7 for 17 (41.2%) in four games. Making do with field goals was the difference in one overtime loss at Detroit in the season opener and a losing by six points last week in Chicago.

The Rams were 2 for 3 in the red zone against the Packers, with Stafford crediting more consistency from the running game to set up Williams’ 1-yard scoring rush in the second quarter and his 1-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson up 3 : There are still 30 left to get within five points.

But Los Angeles didn’t convert from the Packers 4 in the first quarter, with two of Stafford’s passes to tight end Colby Parkinson falling incomplete on third and fourth down.

“It’s frustrating to let those opportunities slip away, and points are important,” Stafford said. “They have an advantage in this competition. So just try to work and be as accurate as possible.”

The empty possession, along with a missed extra point by rookie Joshua Karty and wide receiver Tutu Atwell’s botched jet sweep on a two-point attempt in the fourth quarter, were mistakes that exacerbated the Rams’ turnover problems.

Even with these blunders, the Rams still had a chance to pull out the win on their final possession. Stafford drove them to the Packers 38, but he was pressured into a quick throw on fourth down, just ahead of Parkinson, ending the comeback bid with 1:02 to go.

The Rams battled out of similar trouble last season, bouncing back from a 3-6 start to make the playoffs. It will take such an effort to do the same this year, and McVay said it has to start with the discipline to avoid giving away opportunities.

“Before you can start winning games, you have to learn how not to beat yourself,” he said. “But I am proud of the fight of this group. This one, this one is a tough one, but we’ll respond, we’ll look at ourselves, and we’ll figure out how we can get better and how we can continue to coach better.

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AP N.F.L.: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL