There’s no question Sean McVay and the Rams will take on a few duties this season. Instead of traveling to Australia to play without rest, they lost to the Broncos in a game they deserved to win and advance to the finals. Monday night football Putting a returnable win in their fingers. Los Angeles finds itself at 2-3 on the season, locked in third place in the NFC West, and looking at the 49ers, who are 5-0, looking like the juggernaut of the division.
The situation may seem dire, especially for a team universally revered as a Super Bowl contender, but the whole picture really isn’t that bad for the Rams — at least not yet.
While the 2-3 record is bad individually, we’ve seen significant improvement in the Rams over the past two weeks. Matthew Stafford looks more comfortable under center after a rocky start, Pukka Nacua is back in the lineup after injury and the team is set to get better with Myles Garrett (hopefully) in Week 9.
Even if Garrett doesn’t make it back in the previous timeline, it’s the next five weeks. very much Useful for RAM;
- with the cardinals
- @ robbers
- with chargers
- @ Commanders
- @Cardinals
Facing teams with a combined record of 6-18-1, the only team poised to compete remotely is the Raiders — who may be in the middle of getting their season reps to Fernando Mendoza in an attempt to compete with the Kirk Cousins. With this Rams team at 7-3 entering Week 10, there’s a very real chance we’ll see them in the mix in the division and in the lead for a wild card spot in the NFC.
But that doesn’t mean the Rams are without problems. Matthew Stafford has been very scattered over five games. Accuracy slipped despite its shallow average depth of target (ADoT). This means he is struggling more despite making easy throws. After all, throwing six interceptions in five games is wild considering he threw eight in 17 games last season. Without Garrett in the lineup, there’s little margin for error on defense, and that’s being exploited.
The run defense, in particular, has been extremely suspect through five games. The Rams are currently giving up 4.6 yards-per-carry, good for 24th in the NFL and in the middle of the league in plays allowed per drive, thanks to teams consistently running the ball well. That leaves Los Angeles 20th in the NFL in giving up 24.0 points per game and averaging 23.8 points per game.
The Rams aren’t “done” by any means, but they have a lot to fix. Monday night football It was indicative of this. The Bills are one of the best teams in the league, but the Rams have a reputation for being an all-around powerhouse heading into 2026 where even the best teams will struggle. It didn’t just happen. And we have a team that has failed to reach its true potential even after making big trades to improve both their defensive line and secondary.
That’s what makes the 2026 version of the Rams so appealing. Regularly seen as a “hybrid” team, the roster has always been elevated thanks to Sean McVay and his coaching staff. There will be glaring holes on both sides of the ball, but McVay and company will always have a plan, plan around it, and eventually produce a team that looks like a Super Bowl contender. This year, it doesn’t look like that. There’s a scorn and a shudder that’s just missing. This It’s time to assume the Rams are very confident in their secondary with Trent McDuffie and all of their tools.
One thing is clear: Myles Garrett’s return can’t come soon enough. This team needs an injection of energy on the defensive end as badly as possible. If that happens in or around the week and the Rams can get back on track – watch out. If not, well, this could be one of the most dramatic failures a team has suffered in recent years.
