The Los Angeles Rams are 3-0 and in first place in the NFC West. But if you've watched their games, you probably can't help but be a bit underwhelmed by their performance thus far. Wade Phillips' defense has lived up to or perhaps even exceeded expectations, but the relative struggles the offense experienced over the latter portion of last season have carried over to this year. 

As of this writing, the Rams rank just 16th in yards per game, eighth in points per game, and 16th in offensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders' DVOA. They ranked second behind only the Chiefs in all three categories a year ago. 

The main thing that has slipped off for the Rams is their passing game. Despite concerns about Todd Gurley's health and the 6-1 style of defense utilized by the Lions, Bears, and Patriots last season, the Los Angeles run game has been pretty efficient this year. Meanwhile, Jared Goff's completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown rate, interception rate, passer rating, QBR, performance under pressure, play-action success, and deep passing efficiency are all down significantly. Goff knows that he's not yet lived up to expectations. 

"For us internally, our standards are so high, especially offensively," Goff said this week, per the Associated Press. "We expect to be better, and we need to be if we want to win games late in the year. We've been fortunate enough to do enough to win these past three games, but we know that in certain games down the road, it won't be enough. We need to elevate that standard even further and continue to be detailed and be sharp on offense."

Some of the Rams' relative passing game struggles can be attributed to having played against three strong defenses in the Panthers, Saints, and Browns; and that could be rectified by facing the Buccaneers, Falcons, and Bengals within the next five weeks before they head into their bye. But the Rams also need to do a better job of A. scheming guys open; B. protecting Goff long enough to see those openings; and C. having Goff deliver the ball on time and on target. 

"I haven't done a good enough job for us," Rams coach Sean McVay admitted this week. "I think it starts with me. I like the way we've responded and been able to finish games out in the second half, but we expect to be sharper overall. If I do a better job, and then everybody else does a little bit better, we're hopeful that we'll see better results."

McVay is widely considered one of the best offensive minds in the game. It seems somewhat unlikely that his offense has just been "solved," given the amount of success he's already had. But the Rams are definitely searching right now. Stacking three wins while doing that search helps, but they need to get on track if they want to accomplish all of their goals.