Seven weeks into the season and it’s still unclear exactly who the Los Angeles Rams are this year.
They lost to the 49ers in a weird season opener with international travel as a confounding variable. LA also dropped close games to the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Arizona Cardinals. Arizona aside, that’s three losses to teams who figure into the playoff picture for their respective conferences.
Add in the wins and things get even more confusing.
The Rams beat the New York Giants in Week 2. Jaxson
Dart was injured early. Jameis Winston was inept in replacement, and he’s since been replaced in the starting lineup by JJ McCarthy.
LA defeated the Philadelphia Eagles prior to them falling off a cliff. In Week 4 they were missing DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun, Dallas Goedert, and Lane Johnson entering the game. Saquon Barkley exited early and did not return. Part of the subsequent downfall of Philadelphia is attributable to Jalen Hurts’ absence, but it’s fair to question whether the Eagles were a good team before all their attrition.
And then there are the Raiders, who started the season 3-0 before falling to 3-4 following last weekend’s loss to the Rams. The fact that Las Vegas is encouraged by a 3-4 start tells you they didn’t expect to compete much this season. While the Rams handled them solidly, the Raiders did show life in the second half.
Overall, in one way to read it, we can say the Rams lost to the 1-4 Cardinals and then bounced back against a bad Raiders team. Their two other wins aren’t anything to hang their hat on either. The Rams have yet to beat a good team.
That may be an overly pessimistic view. It certainly does not tell the whole story.
The difficult truth is we might not know who the Rams truly are for some time. Wins over the Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and Arizona Cardinals in the next three weeks for the bye don’t move the needle. Losing to these teams could confirm that LA isn’t as good as they expected to be entering the year.
The Rams host the Green Bay Packers the day before Thanksgiving and then the Chiefs the following week. They have games to follow against the 49ers and Cowboys before seeing the Seahawks in two out of the three final games of the regular season.
We might not know who the Rams are until the final moments before the playoffs. The coming weeks can only prove they are a pretender. Establishing themselves as a contender must come later.
The encouraging news is that the Rams, if they can make it to the bye week unscathed, should expect reinforcements coming out of their bye before their schedule grows more competitive. Myles Garrett, Terrance Ferguson, Davante Adams, Kobie Turner, and others could potentially return in time for the daunting finale.
Beating the Giants, Eagles, and Raiders doesn’t tell me who you are. We won’t truly learn much about the Rams until the calendar turns from November into December and thereafter.
