The Los Angeles Rams are 3-4 and climbing back into the NFC playoff picture after a slow start to the season. They are expected to finish with wins in each of the next three weeks against teams with losing records. A 6-4 record puts them back in the contention conversation, especially as Myles Garrett, Terrance Ferguson, and Kobie Turner could all return around Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile the Los Angeles Chargers are 0-6 and looking for their first win of the season.
The Rams cannot let the “Battle for
LA” become a trap game. Justin Herbert and the Chargers will likely pull out all the stops in order to finish in the win column for the first time all year.
One added complexity? The Chargers are coming off their bye week. According to Sports Illustrated—across the NFL from 2019 to 2025—teams posted a 102-91-1 record immediately following their bye. That’s good for a .528 winning percentage, when in theory that should be a perfect .500 record in a large sample size.
The Chargers need all the help they can get, so they will welcome the bye week boost.
Jim Harbaugh’s tenure in Los Angeles is on thin ice. He has yet to win a playoff game in two entries. After hiring former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator, the bottom has fallen out of the offense. Last year’s defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, was maximizing the Chargers’ defensive talent. They are now equal or performing below the sum of their parts.
But a bye week can be handy in correcting coaching and scheme, and this was a chance for the Chargers to look themselves in the mirror and course correct. This is a team that has more talent than their 0-6 record. It’s only a matter of time before they catch an opponent by surprise.
The Rams cannot allow that to happen.
Sean McVay’s team must finish the season 7-3 or better in order to have a realistic chance at a wildcard berth that isn’t left up to tie breaker chance. Using one of their three lives on a winless team would be a difficult pill to swallow, although that is what happened just a couple weeks ago when the Rams dropped a game to the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals.
The jury is still out as to how good the Rams are this year, despite sky-high expectations and a super star roster. One thing is certain: they currently have no margin for error. They must keep as much gas left in the tank as possible ahead of a late-season gauntlet against the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks (twice).
The Rams must take care of business over the next three weeks to give their path from narrowing before their pre-playoff playoff stretch begins.
It all starts with the Chargers. The Rams cannot fall victim to another trap game a couple weeks after being surprised by Arizona.
