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NFL

Third-down miseries, flurry of penalties conspire to sink Rams

By FoxSports
Published | Updated
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Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) rushes against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 21-18. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie Todd Gurley had his streak of four straight 100-yard games halted in Minnesota. Bruce Kluckhohn USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Fisher wanted to see improvement in two areas from his team on Sunday. He got neither and it played a pivotal role in a 21-18 overtime loss at the Minnesota Vikings.

The setback halted a modest two-game winning streak and dropped the Rams (4-4) back to .500. Two issues that continue to haunt St. Louis are penalties and an inability to convert on third downs.

Already the league's worst team on third-down inefficiency entering Sunday's matchup, the Rams were a woeful 2-for-16 against the Vikings and have converted only four times in their last 37 chances despite the presence of one of the league's top running backs in Todd Gurley.

"We're not as productive as we'd like to be on offense," Fisher said. "We made some bigger plays, we had more yardage, but when it came down to it we weren't able to keep drives alive and that's been a problem for us the last few weeks."

Penalties also are trending in the wrong direction for St. Louis. For the second straight game, the Rams were whistled for a season-high 12 infractions, half of which gave the Vikings first downs. Fisher was taken aback at how easily opponents are drawing his defense offside.

"Yeah, I gotta get it fixed," Fisher said. "That's seven defensive offsides in two weeks and it was a no-brainer going into this week that they were going to do it. That didn't help us."