INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- After the Rams dropped to 2-4 with an 18-16 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, running back Kyren Williams was asked why he thought the team's energy level was inconsistent from drive to drive.
"I can't tell you, bro," Williams said. "Probably because I'm not out there."
Williams has shared the load at running back this season with 2024 third-round pick Blake Corum. On Sunday, Williams played 40 offensive snaps to Corum's 16. Williams had 10 carries for 50 yards and three catches for 17 yards. Corum had nine carries for 42 yards and two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown.
For the season, Williams has played 70% of the Rams' offensive snaps (287 of 410), Corum 28% (114 of 410). Williams also has played the third-most offensive snaps of any running back this season (only the Colts' Jonathan Taylor and Steelers' Jaylen Warren have played more).
When asked whether he thought he should be playing a higher percentage of snaps, Williams said, "I can't really call that.
"It's not on me, but I just think no matter what, we got to continue to have the energy."
The Cardinals, who closed as 13.5-point underdogs, pulled the biggest upset of the season based on point spread, according to ESPN Research, and became only the second double-digit underdog to win outright in the past two seasons.
Coach Sean McVay said the Rams cannot get out of their own way with "critical" and "unforced errors," penalties and poor execution.
"We won't win a game unless we figure out how not to beat ourselves," he said.
"And so we have a lot to look at ourselves on, and we have to be able to go back to the drawing board and figure out how we improve because like I just told you guys, we have to be able to not beat ourselves before we figure out how to even come away with some of the results. And it's not even good enough.
"There is nothing positive that I can say about today," the coach added.
McVay said he had no answer to why the Rams have so many self-inflicted wounds this season, noting, "A lot of different guys are taking their turn."
"I've continued to talk about it," he said. "We try to be able to harp on it, and we've got to be able to figure it out. And I don't have those answers right now, otherwise it would've gotten fixed.
"That's what our narrative has been for this year.
"And we can't keep saying, 'Oh, we haven't done that before,'" McVay said. "Well, this year we are doing it, and so we have to be able to fix it, and it's my job to do that."
The Rams are now 2-4 in an NFC West division led by the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers, who play Monday against Washington. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Rams have a 43% chance to make the playoffs.
The Rams are the fifth team in the past 50 seasons to enter a season as the outright Super Bowl favorite and lose at least four of its first six games, according to ESPN Research. None of the previous four reached its conference championship game.
"Even if we had come away with the result [on Sunday], it's not good enough," McVay said. "There's just so many things that aren't in alignment with what we need to be able to do, and we got to be able to figure it out. And it starts with me, and I got to be able to have some better answers so that I'm not up here saying the same things to you guys."