The Los Angeles Rams were simply outclassed in their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers, with the team's secondary failing to contain the 49ers' passing attack.
After the Rams added tremendous talent to their secondary, spending $175 million on contracts for Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, Los Angeles believes it has a secondary that could win championships for years to come.
However, their defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, is being doubted after such a poor performance. Not only did the 49ers strike through the air, but they were also nearly unstoppable on the ground; San Francisco put up 379 yards of total offense, including 174 rushing.
So, was the issue scheme, ability, both, or a mix in addition to other factors? Head coach
Sean McVay addressed the issue with the secondary and the developing narrative that despite their corners excelling in man coverage, they were used as zone defenders in Melbourne.
The Rams rebuilt their CB room by adding man-coverage specialists and played zone 77.8% of the snaps in Week 1, per @SumerSports.
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) September 11, 2026
Just 13.9% in man coverage. Odd.
McVay said the Rams were a bit "stickier" than the public realizes, but the results need to improve, alluding to poor execution of play calls. He also put his public trust in Shula and the defensive coaching staff.
"There was some opportunities that we did," McVay said on the "Coach McVay Show." You know, really, with the exception of the one explosive –you know, the Niners are an excellent offense. I think really what ended up happening a lot of screens early on. There was a lot of, you know, good commitment to the run where they were able to be in shorter third-down situations. Outside of the one big play that we did give up, I thought we were pretty connected on the back end. And that’s a learning opp for us, where we can really play that specific coverage a lot better and we know that. But there were some opportunities that we did get sticker than people probably realize because of the way that we align."
The big play is referring to Demarcus Robinson's 39-yard touchdown reception.
MCVay continued by expressing his confidence in Shula and the defensive coaches, while also saying the team will utilize its players' best traits moving forward.
"And then there’s some opportunities for us to look inward without getting too granular or revealing anything in terms of our approach moving forward that we’re optimistic that we can do some things collectively," he added. "And I have tremendous trust and confidence in Chris Shula leading the way, our defensive coaches, and then ultimately, you know, we’re always looking at where those opportunities to put the players in the positions that allow their best traits and characteristics to come to life on a consistent basis, and you’ll see that moving forward."
One of the key factors in the game was that Myles Garrett was playing at a reduced level because of a knee injury, giving Brock Purdy time to get the ball downfield. McVay and the staff will look to move forward, with the New York Giants providing another tough challenge that should give us a proper evaluation of Shula and the secondary.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay addresses narrative that Rams didn't play to their new CBs' strengths
