The Los Angeles Rams lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals, 18-16, on Sunday, dropping to last place in the NFC West and extending a pattern of underachievement that has made the team’s status as a preseason Super Bowl favorite look increasingly indefensible.
It was the Rams’ second consecutive home loss at SoFi Stadium. The Cardinals, coached by first-time head coach Mike LaFleur and coming off a trade last week that sent former first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. away, outplayed the Rams on defense and forced the kinds of mistakes that have now defined Los Angeles’ season.
“A lot of different guys are taking their turn [making mistakes],” Rams coach Sean McVay said after the game. “I talk about it, we try to harp on it, and we’ve got to figure it out. We don’t have those answers right now otherwise it would have gotten fixed. We’ve had some really critical errors at unfortunate times. But that’s what our narrative has been for this year.”
McVay put it more bluntly earlier: “We won’t win a game unless we figure out how not to beat ourselves.”
A season of self-inflicted wounds
The Rams opened the season with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers after flying to Australia just 36 hours before kickoff, while the 49ers had spent a full week acclimating. Myles Garrett, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year brought in as a marquee offseason addition, played through a knee injury he later said left him delivering “the worst version of myself,” before finally undergoing surgery on Sept. 14. He is now eligible to return from injured reserve, though his return this week is not guaranteed.
In Week 3, the Rams held a 16-0 halftime lead over the Denver Broncos and lost 30-26. In Week 5, they put together a statistical performance against the Buffalo Bills that has never been matched in NFL history — more than 400 total yards, over 30 first downs, five touchdowns, a 50 percent third-down conversion rate, and zero turnovers — and still lost, 37-34.
Talent was never the question
On paper, the Rams had every reason to be favored. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was last season’s NFL MVP. Garrett is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Aaron Donald came out of retirement to play, delaying his eventual Hall of Fame induction. The team also added both starting cornerbacks from last season’s Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams reached the NFC Championship game a year ago.
None of that has translated into wins this fall. The Rams are now 2-4 and sit last in the NFC West, a result that has upended the expectations built around them before the season began.
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