Despite Rams’ awful start, devastating injuries, Super Bowl run still in the cards

There’s an age-old adage in sports: Never let a team beat you twice.

Well, the Los Angeles Rams apparently never got the memo because not only did they lose to the Arizona Cardinals on the scoreboard on Sunday afternoon, but also on the injury report that was revealed on Monday. 

The Cardinals delivered a humiliating 18-16 defeat that dropped the Rams to 2-4 and into last place in the NFC West. Then, less than 24 hours later, they were dealt another brutal blow when head coach Sean McVay revealed an avalanche of injuries that was somehow more devastating than the final score. 

Newly signed kicker Blake Grupe tore his ACL making a touchdown-saving tackle after another special teams coverage breakdown.

Star receiver Davante Adams ruptured his semitendinosus near his left knee and faces surgery and a six-to-10-week absence. Nose tackle Poona Ford ruptured his triceps and is finished for the season, while defensive end Kobie Turner suffered a groin strain that will sideline him for several weeks.

Add those names to a growing injury list featuring Myles Garrett, Terrance Ferguson and Trent McDuffie, and the Rams now look more like a MASH unit than a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Let’s face it, if there were ever a time to burn sage inside SoFi Stadium and perform an exorcism, this might be it. Between the Rams’ misfortunes and the Chargers’ 0-6 start, things could not get any worse for NFL teams in Los Angeles. 

“It’s unfortunate we will miss those guys and what they bring on the field,” tight end Tyler Higbee said. “But injuries are part of the game. At the NFL level, everyone is getting paid to do their job. It has to be a next man up mentality.”

At some point, the phrase “next man up” stops sounding inspirational and starts sounding like a desperate plea for healthy bodies.

Safety Quentin Lake echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of keeping injured teammates involved while preparing their replacements.

“It’s now next man up, guys are going to be able to come in and make an impact,” Lake said.

Let’s just come right out and ask what everyone is thinking: Is the Rams season already over?

Honestly, there’s a compelling argument that it is. 

This roster was built to win a Super Bowl, not survive a war of attrition. Its greatest strength was elite talent concentrated at critical positions. Now those stars are disappearing faster than McVay can replace them.

Worse, the Rams haven’t simply been unlucky. They’ve been undisciplined, inconsistent and occasionally downright incompetent.

The disastrous travel planning before their opener in Australia, the handling of Garrett’s knee, the missed kicks, the special teams breakdowns and the weekly parade of self-inflicted penalties have all contributed to this mess.

Even questionable late-game officiating involving Josh Wallace in two losses cannot excuse everything that happened before those decisive moments.

“We’ve taken some shots this year and we have to be able to get up and keep swinging,” McVay said Monday.

That sounds admirable. But can they actually do it?

Rams Super Bowl path still clear

That is where this season becomes interesting.

The Rams still have 11 games remaining, four against NFC West opponents, and a potentially manageable stretch of opponents with losing records over their next four games. The NFC playoff race is hardly overflowing with unbeatable teams.

Remember 2023? That Rams team started 3-6, carried modest expectations and won seven of its final eight games to reach the playoffs. The 2024 team started 1-4 before advancing to the divisional round. 

They are 2-4 this year, but with three Wild Card spots available, and the NFC looking mostly like a dumpster fire, just reaching the playoffs is not crazy difficult to attain.

If they do get into the dance, there is a chance they would open up at either the NFC East or NFC South winner. Currently, that would be the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.

Los Angles would be road favorites in both of those potential matchups.

The formula isn’t complicated, although executing it certainly will be.

McVay must stop waiting until desperation forces Stafford into two-minute mode before his offense starts functioning. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula must compensate for the losses of Ford and Turner while tightening the middle of the field. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone needs to fix a unit that has become a weekly liability. And the backups that are now being thrust into starting roles must become important contributors rather than placeholders. 

McVay knows the responsibility begins with him.

“We can’t wait until the very end to play our best,” he admitted Monday.

He’s right. The Rams no longer have the luxury of playing 5 minutes of championship-caliber football and expecting it to erase 55 minutes of mistakes.

According to PlayoffStatus.com, their postseason chances are currently at 22% and that’s before the announcement of Monday’s rash of injuries. 

Those aren’t encouraging odds, but they aren’t zero.

If the Rams can tread water over the next month, get Ferguson and Turner back, eventually welcome Garrett and Adams into the lineup, and enter December within striking distance of a wild-card berth, there’s still a path forward.

Perhaps the disappearance of Super Bowl expectations will even liberate a team that has looked burdened by them.

McVay offered the only reasonable message Monday.

“Life goes on. This season goes on.”

The Rams aren’t mathematically eliminated. Their championship window hasn’t officially slammed shut. But the next four or five weeks will determine whether this is a remarkable comeback story or the beginning of a long, miserable march toward January.

Either way, the Rams are about to discover what they’re really made of.

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