On Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams put together their best performance on special teams this season, which reveals a disturbing reality. Even at their best, the unit still isn't operating at a level the franchise can be comfortable with, and their issues continue to allude to the reality that special teams will once again end the team's season prematurely.
New kicker Brandon McManus was perfect on all five of his point-after attempts, but we have no idea how he'll perform during field goal attempts. What we do know, because we all saw it during the game, was the kick coverage unit once again letting the side down.
Things are so bad that it would be more advantageous for the Rams to have kickoffs fly through the end zone, setting the opposing side
at their 35-yard line instead of kicking the ball to a returner inside the 20.
The Raiders, who were on the back foot all game, turned to their special teams to deliver their only major strike against Los Angeles. That came in the form of a fake punt on fourth-and-5 that resulted in a first down. They did well on the Raiders' onside kick that Konata Mumpfield corralled to secure the win, but at this point, we're celebrating what should be automatic.
It's unfair to call anything in the NFL automatic, but when a franchise like the Rams comes into a season with Super Bowl expectations, it's fair to expect strong execution in all three phases of the game. And for another week, the special teams suffered. Super Bowl contenders fix issues; they don't put a Band-Aid on it.
The issue is that there is no answer at this point in the season, so the franchise has to hope for something that borders on divine intervention.
If this is the best, the Rams should start booking their vacations for Super Bowl weekend. We may not know where they'll be, but it won't be SoFi Stadium if this is what the best looks like.
Who knows what the Rams are going to do? But we're tired of asking the question just to get the same old answers. We've seen this before. Let's hope Sean McVay's men can do enough so that when the special teams blow a tire in a critical moment, their defense and offense can lock in to bail them out.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' special teams had its best game Sunday, which is what's so concerning
