The Los Angeles Rams opened the 2026 season with a rough 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and though that can feel deflating in the moment, just keep in mind that last year’s Super Bowl champions lost to the 49ers at home in Week 1. That being said, the Rams have now incurred at least one loss in their first three games in five consecutive seasons.
The last time that the Rams started 3-0, they won the Super Bowl and no that is not a coincidence.
The most important goal for every team should be
earning the number one seed. It’s just too powerful of a playoff advantage, but Sean McVay’s teams consistently fall a game or two shy of those aspirations and it’s because of slow starts:
- 2022: 2-3
- 2023: 3-6
- 2024: 1-4
- 2025: 3-2
The Rams have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, but they have been seeds 4, 5, and 6. That’s simply not good enough and it’s a large part of the reason why L.A. hasn’t reached the Super Bowl since 2021 and McVay has just a 3-3 postseason record since then despite Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and plenty of other stars. He even has Sean McVay.
Well, at times that — the McVay effect — feels like both a blessing and a curse.
I’m not saying that these are “flaws” necessarily, but with a 20-point loss to start a season in which a strong start feels imperative, these are McVay philosophies that the team refuses to even address as potential setbacks in need of re-thinking. Will anything convince McVay or the Rams to look in the mirror if they fall short of expectations again in 2026?
1 – Not playing the preseason
McVay has consistently sat starters and key players in the preseason since 2018. Could this be a factor in L.A.’s consistently poor openings to the season, looking “flat” and unprepared for Weeks 1-5?
Compare this philosophy to the victorious 49ers:
Kyle Shanahan doesn’t give his starters many preseason reps, but he doesn’t seem as fearful of preseason injuries as McVay does. Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, De’Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black, Marquis Sigle, and others were all active at points in the preseason this season. Yes, they are cautious, but not afraid.
The 49ers do seem to have consistent injury problems, but none of these players got injured in preseason action. And Purdy looked far better in Week 1 than Matthew Stafford did.
Is that less surprising than it should be given that Stafford also sits out at least half of the training camp and offseason practices? What if he wasn’t fully prepared for Week 1, regardless of how many seasons of football he’s played before. He’s never played with this exact team before.
I often compare football players, especially quarterbacks, to Tom Brady and how he handled his business. Why not? He’s won seven Super Bowls. I’d pay attention. Here’s what Brady recently said about the preseason:
“Preseason… Regular season… I never wanted to be taken off the field. Practice makes perfect,” the retired quarterback wrote.
“Too many people looking for easy ways out these days. When you’re a football player, and it’s football season, your job is to play football.”
Yikes.
Sorry, that’s not how I’d want to be seen by players in the Hall of Fame. Like I was too afraid of getting hurt or too good for additional reps. Sean McVay has refused to consider if his preseason philosophy is a flawed one and I doubt that’s going to change in 2027.
But if the Rams lose another game or two in the next few weeks, they absolutely should change it.
2 – “Rookies don’t matter”
Let’s see:
- First round pick was used on a QB the team knew would be third string and inactive
- Second round pick was used on a TE the team knew would be fifth string and inactive
- Third round pick was used on a OL they team knew would be a backup this season
You can definitely justify using a third round pick on Keagen Trost, especially given L.A.’s major free agency problem with the offensive line coming up in 2027. You can probably justify drafting Ty Simpson because Matthew Stafford is old for an NFL player and maybe this would be McVay’s only chance to get a decent prospect at the position to develop.
And yes, the Rams traded a first round pick for Trent McDuffie, which means Les Snead did get some immediate value out of the team’s 2026 draft capital. However, at what cost:
L.A.’s extra first round pick didn’t come out of thin air. The team willingly traded out of the 2025 first round in order to acquire an additional first round pick in 2026. They don’t have a developing second-year first round talent on the roster because the Rams traded the pick to use a pick on Ty Simpson…a player who doesn’t play and won’t play any time soon.
People always say “Ty Simpson or Makai Lemon” but that’s NOT the comparison you should be making!
The comparison is Simpson or safety Malaki Starks? Simpson or tackle Josh Conerly? Simpson or linebacker Carson Schwesinger? Simpson or safety Nick Emmanwori?
The Rams could be going into year two with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (Schwesinger) instead of Omar Speights. But because the team does not value their rookie class, they have Terrance Ferguson (who had zero catches on one target) and Simpson (inactive).
Flip this around on San Francisco and you’ll see that their first pick was Stribling, who is set to have a huge role but was injured in Week 1 before he got targeted; third round pick Romello Height, a defensive end who is at least in the rotation a bit; third round running back Kaelon Black, who had 70 total yards on Thursday; and fifth round pick Jaden Dugger, who had five tackles against the Rams.
Injuries have taken a toll on San Francisco’s 2025 class and even then they had Sigle, CJ West, and Upton Stout contributing to their defense on Thursday. L.A.‘s 2025 class includes Ferguson, Josaiah Stewart (six tackles), Jarquez Hunter (traded), Ty Hamilton (one tackle), Chris Paul (released last preseason), and Konata Mumpfield (0 catches on 1 target).
Any franchise that feels “F them picks” is banking heavily on their pro scouting department and their ability to find diamonds in the rough like Puka Nacua every year.
However, in the past three drafts, the Rams’ best picks who are currently on the roster are:
- Braden Fiske (not a standout recently)
- Blake Corum (now half of the backfield)
- Kam Kinchens (maybe right now an above-average safety)
- Tyler Davis (a rising name at DT, but will Aaron Donald steal snaps?)
And … that’s it.
The team has traded Jared Verse and Hunter, and they’ve released five others (Paul, Josh Karty, Brennan Jackson, KT Leveston, and Tim Keenan). Jordan Whittington, Terrance Ferguson, Hamilton, and Stewart are still pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Beaux Limmer is a backup. And every 2026 rookie was unavailable on Thursday.
Teams that make picks “for the future” can only justify that philosophy if they’re being carried by picks “from the past” and the Rams can’t quite say that, can they?
Instead, they’re largely still relying on players who were picked by other teams, like Stafford, Myles Garrett, Davante Adams, and Nate Landman. Snead had an historic draft class in 2023, right when the team needed it, but he has since left value on the table by not attempting to find ROOKIE VALUE in any season since then.
And that could be a blind spot.
3 – Special teams? Says who?
Sean McVay did make a move this offseason, hiring special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, but what else is new? That’s usual. The Rams hire a new special teams coordinator every couple of years.
Maybe then…it’s not the coordinator’s fault?
While the Rams are making trades for superstars, they’re overlooking problems on their roster that would be FAR EASIER TO ADDRESS, but for some reason they never do:
It’s special teams! Just get better special teamers!
Down 10-7 going into the second half kickoff, the Rams allowed a 45-yard return by Deebo Samuel. And wouldn’t you know it? A few minutes later, they were down 17-7.
Conversely, the Rams had Whittington returning kicks, a player who is just not dynamic, not special, and totally forgettable. You might think that L.A. would have attempted to find someone dynamic there, as special teams plays cost them dearly in losses to the Seahawks last year (allowed a punt return TD in Week 16 and lost a muffed punt in the NFC Championship), but no. They brought back Xavier Smith instead.
Ethan Evans is a good punt. Harrison Mevis? Meh. He’s a serviceable kicker when the task isn’t too big, no pun intended.
But here we are again, early in the season, talking about “What if the Rams had better special teams?” “What if the Rams had someone who could take it to the house?” “What if the Rams had backed up the Niners to start the second half instead of setting them up?”
This may not seem like such a big deal when the team loses 27-7, but there is a certain type of momentum in games that is definitely real. There’s nobody getting the offense hyped up to start a drive after a good return, and like there was for Deebo and the 49ers to open up the game in San Francisco’s favor.
And just wait. If this is “not that bad”, then what could “bad” look like in the future?
