The Los Angeles Rams beat up the crosstown Chargers to draw even on the year at 4-4, but consecutive wins over middling teams weren't enough to vault L.A. back into the top-10 of the expert power rankings we curated.
The Rams won 24-9 but had a hard time dispatching the Chargers until they got the run game going. Even worse, Matthew Stafford didn't look like himself in the win and is dealing with soreness in his throwing arm, which could complicate things for the 38-year-old quarterback.
Sean McVay and company get another nice matchup against the Washington Commanders in Week 9 with the goal of getting back on the winning side of their record with a few games left before the bye.
Here's the full power rankings roundup for Week 9.
USA Today Sports: 12
If their season
wasn't already belatedly taking off, it's about to gain some serious altitude with defensive game wrecker Myles Garrett set to rejoin practice this week.
ESPN: 12
CBS Sports: 13
The defense came up big in the victory over the Chargers. The offense didn't do a ton, but the run game clicked enough to get this team to 4-4.
FOX Sports: 12
The Rams officially won the battle of L.A., which of course isn’t saying much considering the state of their co-tenants at SoFi Stadium. They gave a pretty middling performance both offensively and defensively, and it was a bit shocking that they trailed 9-3 late in the first half. It’s OK to sleepwalk in a game against the Chargers, of course. But it’ll take a lot more than that to prove their season is back on track. They better wake up before they face the Packers, Chiefs, 49ers and Seahawks after Thanksgiving.
Sports Illustrated: 11
I don’t know what exactly this says or who it compliments, but the Rams defense still has not allowed a first quarter touchdown this season which is wild, potentially insignificant, totally unsustainable and yet, still noteworthy.
Yahoo Sports: 12
Bleacher Report: 13
At 4-4 after back-to-back wins, the presumptive Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams are finally in a position where a run should be possible.
Prior to the team's Week 11 bye, the Rams face the Washington Commanders and Arizona Cardinals. Both are winnable matchups, even if Los Angeles fell to the Cardinals just two weeks ago.
Plus, help should be on the way. The NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, could play as early as this coming weekend. Though another week or two may be a more realistic possibility.
The Rams haven't fielded their intended starting lineup at any point of this season. But Garrett's return should provide a jolt when Los Angeles needs it the most and revive the squad's previous expectations.
The Athletic: 13
The Rams had three kickers active Sunday — a placekicker, a punter and another kicker just for kickoffs (Joshua Karty). It’s a sign of how desperate Sean McVay is to get the special teams monkey off his back. It didn’t help much. Los Angeles is still last in the league in special teams EPA (minus-41.9) after its fifth-worst special teams performance of the year.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams barely move in Week 9 power rankings
