For the first time since 1994, the Rams played a game tonight with “Los Angeles” as part of their name.

It went badly. Very badly.

Final, from Santa Clara: San Francisco 49ers 28, Rams 0.

And the scary thing is … the 49ers weren’t any good either, as some NFL writers noted.

The Rams gained only 185 yards, then gave back 110 yards of field position in penalties. They were awful. Unwatchable.

Many thought the 49ers might be one of the worst teams in the NFL. And the Rams just got slapped around by them.

Their top-of-the-draft quarterback, Jared Goff, watched the game from the sidelines while the Rams played career mediocrity Case Keenum at QB.

Keenum averaged 3.7 yards over his 35 passes, two of which were intercepted.

The Rams appear to stink. And why not? They had losing records in their final nine seasons in St. Louis, going 42-101-1. It wasn’t like these are the George Allen Rams, or the Chuck Knox (first time around) Rams.

So what now?

If this team is going to struggle, can it at least be interesting?

And how better to be interesting than to let The California Kid play quarterback?

Starting, like, Sunday in the Coliseum.

If the Rams cannot deliver a victory, and it requires a flight of fancy/lunacy to think they can, at home against the Seattle Seahawks, they at least can  distract fans by playing the rookie they spent six high draft picks on.

That would be Goff.

It has been suggested Goff is a monumental, Mount Rushmore-scale bust in the making. He may not be particularly adept at quarterback-y thinking, and perhaps this coaching staff has no one who can coach him up, and the roster has no one who can mentor him, and he may have ball-control issues because of his small-ish hands.

But, so what? The Rams are going to go 9-7 with Case Keenum?

No, they are not. So let’s at least make it interesting. (And having Todd Gurley carry the ball 30 times does not qualify as interesting.)

As long as coach Jeff Fisher is more-or-less convinced the incoming Seahawks (gulp!) will not permanently scar or kill Jared Goff … run him out there.

Let the fans see what the club bet the house on. Even if he loses heavily, it will spark discussion.

Quarterbacks do that, and the previous incarnation of the Los Angeles Rams had a deep and rich history of quarterback controversies, going back to Van Brocklin vs. Waterfield, right through Munson vs. Gabriel and Jaworski vs. Harris and Haden vs. Namath and Ferragamo.

Los Angeles Rams fans love arguing over quarterbacks. It’s tradition!

Let’s face it, the Rams are at a critical moment in return to L.A. They just got skunked by the team that is their greatest rival … and up next is their first home game, and do they really want to be 0-2 under Case “10-and-22 as a starter” Keenum? A boring 0-2?

Goff, get suited up. You’re taking the field. As the Brits would say, “death or glory!”

The Rams need to prove they are worth talking about, and the organization needs to own the most important personnel move it has made in years.

Showcasing their would-be golden boy is the best way to get that done.