Heading into the Week 7 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, the 2026 Los Angeles Rams have drawn comparisons to the 2010 then-San Diego Chargers.
That year, the Chargers had the No. 1-ranked offense and No. 1-ranked defense in terms of yards per game, but finished with a 9-7 record and failed to make the playoffs. How did that happen? San Diego’s special teams ranked dead last in the NFL and cost the team several games. Sixteen years later, the franchise the Bolts currently share a city and stadium
with is following a similar trend.
The Rams “won the offseason” by swinging big and making trades for All-Pros like Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, while luring future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald out of retirement. They already had a potent offense with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford at quarterback, seemingly setting themselves up to host Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
To Los Angeles’ credit, the team does have the third-ranked offense and third-ranked defense in total yards through the first six weeks of the season. But the 2-4 club is clearly falling short of the preseason expectations. How?
Injuries have certainly been a factor since Garrett has only played in the season opener, while McDuffie and Donald have combined to miss three games. But the biggest aspect of the Rams’ lack of success is that they rank dead last in total special teams EPA (-21.35) and EPA per play (-0.309), according to Sumer Sports.
Figuring out the kicker situation has been a big part of the issue. Harrison Mevis was L.A.’s kicker for the first five games of the campaign but made just five of his nine attempts (55.6%), missing both tries in a 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. That was the final straw for Mevis, who was released and replaced by Blake Grupe last week, only for Grupe to tear an ACL in his Rams debut last Sunday.
Brandon McManus, who made 24 of 30 attempts (80.0%) with the Green Bay Packers a year ago, will be Los Angeles’ third kicker in seven games this season. However, putting the ball between the uprights has been the Rams’ biggest issue on special teams, but not the only one.
Sumer Sports has their punt coverage costing the team about 0.43 EPA per punt, while having a neutral punt return game. Additionally, Pro Football Focus has Los Angeles graded as the seventh-worst special teams unit in the NFL with a 66.5 mark. This phase of the game was a sticking point in Turf Show Times’ Kenny Arthur’s response when Silver and Black Pride asked Arthur how the “Super Team” has fallen apart.
Meanwhile, the Raiders’ special teams have had issues under coordinator Joe DeCamillis — who held the same position with the Rams in 2021 and 2022 — so far this season, too. Vegas has fared decently in total EPA, ranking ninth at 7.65, primarily due to Matt Gay making 14 of his 15 field goals (93.3%).
However, the Silver and Black have struggled to cover punts, ranking 26th in the NFL by allowing 13.44 yards per punt return, according to Sumer. Also, the punt returners have had issues with both when to and when not to field punts, while kick returners Dylan Laube and Dareke Young have each had costly fumbles. As a result, Vegas has a slightly worse PFF special teams grade than L.A. does, ranking as the fifth-worst with a 65.2 mark.
Plenty of focus will be on each team’s offense and defense this Sunday, but it could be the third/often forgotten phase of the game that ends up being the biggest difference or factor on the scoreboard.
So, for this week’s game day discussion on The FEED, we’ll be keeping tabs on the special teams battle. The game kicks off at 1:25 p.m. PST and will air on FOX (check your local listings). I look forward to talkin’ some ball with y’all!
