The Los Angeles Rams entered the 2026 season with expectations of having the most formidable defense in the NFL. But despite being stacked on paper at every level from the front seven to the secondary, the supposedly vaunted unit was pushed around by the San Francisco 49ers in an embarrassing 27-7 season-opening blowout loss in Australia.
Now, things have somehow gotten even worse in LA.
Myles Garrett, the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is set to miss at least the next four weeks to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee and will be placed on injured reserve, according to multiple reports. Garrett, who missed most of training camp and the preseason with inflammation in his knee, was able to make his Rams debut in Week
1 but was a non-factor. He finished the game with zero tackles, sacks or zero QB hits.
After the game, Garrett admitted to reporters that he wasn't 100% and that his knee was still in pain, and that became his focus instead of the divisional rival lined up across from him.
"This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there," Garrett said. "I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and that I’ve shown I’ve been before."
Garrett wasn't the only player to have a poor showing Down Under. The entire defensive front - Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford and Byron Young - was practically nonexistent, only managing to hit San Francisco QB Brock Purdy twice and failing to register a single sack. They hardly looked the part of the fearsome D-Line that inspired Aaron Donald to come out of retirement.
The Rams could very well have been jetlagged, as they flew in the day before the game to keep their bodies on Pacific Time. But putting that reasoning aside, the Rams will have to wait until Week 6 at the earliest to see their front seven at full strength.
They should have the depth to get through a quarter of the season without the five-time All-Pro, especially with the impending debut of Donald, who did not travel with the team to Australia to ramp himself up for a Week 2 debut at SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football. But the collective performance in Week 1 did not offer any real signs of encouragement.
And now, the dream pairing of Garrett and Donald has been deferred to at least October.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Myles Garrett is headed to IR. What does that mean for Rams?
