Rams Midweek Report: Favorable Schedule Ahead, Myles Garrett Update, Sean McVay Concerns

As the Los Angeles Rams sit at 2-3, it’s easy to be down on them after their loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. It wasn’t just that the Rams lost, but how they lost that was so deflating. The Rams should have won, but it was special teams that cost them once again. 

Given the issues on special teams, it’s hard to put a lot of faith in this team. They continuously invent new ways to lose. For the first time this season, the Rams are no longer Super Bowl favorites as that belongs to the San Francisco 49ers. 

At the same time, if the Rams can figure it out, there is the potential for them to go on a serious run. Here is their schedule before the bye week in Week 11: 

• Week 6 vs. Arizona Cardinals 1-4
• Week 7 @ Las Vegas Raiders 3-2
• Week 8 vs. Los Angeles Chargers 0-5
• Week 9 @ Washington Commanders 1-3-1
• Week 10 @ Arizona Cardinals 1-4

The combined record for those teams is 6-18-1. That’s the lowest strength of schedule over the next five games in the NFL.It’s important not to look too far ahead in the NFL, but those are five very winnable games. The Rams could easily go into their bye week with a 7-3 record. At that point, the Rams may only be one or two games back in the NFC West behind the 49ers. 

A 7-3 record isn’t guaranteed. The Rams still need to go out and take care of business. However, they are past the grueling opening stretch of their schedule. They are also set to get healthier as Myles Garrett gets closer to his return and they should get Terrance Ferguson back in three weeks. 

The next game that the Rams will have to be concerned about is Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Even then, that’s a winnable game and the Rams are at home. Let’s say the 49ers lose to the Seahawks in Week 12 as well as one more game.That would set up a Week 14 matchup between the 9-3 Rams and the 10-2 49ers. A win there would put the Rams back on top in the NFC West. 

That doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a long shot. There’s a reason the Rams have only a 14 percent chance of winning the NFC West right now. However, a lot can change in two months, especially as the Rams get Garrett back and they hopefully start to find their stride. 

Around The Rams 

Rams Getting Closer to Myles Garrett's Return

As the weeks have gone on, there has been growing anticipation for when Myles Garrett will make his return to the Rams. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been writing that Week 7 was the most realistic. While the team was optimistic that he could be back on Sunday, Week 7 was the more realistic timeline with Week 8 being a worst-case scenario. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport confirmed that this week. 

“My understanding was it was a six-week recovery from a knee surgery. He had the knee surgery on the Monday after Week 1, so Week 7 should be around when he’s ready, which could mean practicing this week and then playing next week. We’re getting to the window.”

McVay has already said that the team wouldn’t be opening Garrett’s window this week. The Rams’ head coach was asked about it on Tuesday and said, “We will not. Not this week.” Right now, as long as things go well, Garrett could make his return when the Rams play the Raiders next week. 

Alaric Jackson Wins Appeal, Suspension Reduced

Following Monday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, left tackle Alaric Jackson was caught on camera throwing a punch at edge rusher Bradley Chubb. It adds to the growing list of off-field issues from Jackson. On Tuesday, the NFL announced that Jackson would be suspended without pay for two games for an act of unsportsmanlike conduct.

However, watching the video, it can be seen that Chubb potentially makes contact with Jackson first. Now, to be clear, that doesn’t give Jackson the right to react in the way that he did. With that said, Jackson appealed the two-game suspension and won. His suspension was officially reduced down to one game. Jackson will be eligible to return next week against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

That will be good news for the Rams. On Sunday, they go against a Cardinals defense that has struggled to generate pressure. However, the Raiders will present more of a challenge with Maxx Crosby. They’ll appreciate having Jackson back for that game. 

Sean McVay Stands Behind Bubba Ventrone

Through five weeks, some have wanted the Rams to make a change at their special teams coordinator spot. While there’s no doubt that the Rams need more production out of their special teams unit, making a change at the coordinator spot after just five games likely wouldn’t fix anything. The issues run far deeper than the coordinator or even the kicker for that matter. 

“I have a lot of confidence in Bubba Ventrone,” said McVay on Tuesday. “There are no changes that are going to be made there. We're going to keep working. This isn't the first time that we've had adversity and the first time that we've had some different things that I have to do a better job of.”

In a matter of three weeks, the Rams have made changes at both the returner and kicker positions, cutting Xavier Smith and moving on from Harrison Mevis. Given what Ventrone has said about Ethan Evans, it’s fair to assume he’s on a short leash as well. These are changes that should have been made in the offseason, but the Rams are working on it now. 

3 Things I Think

1. Something Seems Different About Sean McVay This Season

Earlier this week, I wrote about how McVay has played a larger role in the Rams being 2-3 than some would like to believe. With that said, something seems off about McVay this year. When the Rams returned home from Australia, an episode of 60 Minutes aired. In the episode, McVay appeared to be on edge because of a "bad practice." In the episode, McVay appeared to be on edge because of ‘bad practice’. 

After the loss to the Denver Broncos, McVay spoke to the media for two minutes before ducking out of the press conference. The Athletic’s Mike Sando noted in a recent column that, “Some who know McVay suspected from afar that something has been bothering him this season. They thought he seemed too cranky over traveling around the world for the opener in Australia.”

You can go all the way back to the draft, when McVay didn’t seem pleased after the Rams invested a first-round pick in a new quarterback. When McVay and Snead addressed the media following the Simpson pick, McVay almost seemed mad. 

I’m not sure what it is specifically and it would be unfair to speculate. Still, McVay seems to be more on edge than he has in recent years. 

2. Don't Overreact to the Rams Defense Against Buffalo

As expected, the defense is getting a lot of criticism for its performance on Monday night against the Bills. Josh Allen and James Cook combined for 232 yards rushing. It was almost reminiscent of the Divisional Round playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles two years ago. 

However, I do think they were better than the numbers would suggest. On Monday night, 73.7 percent of Josh Allen’s passing attempts were considered “short”. Allen’s 12 completions were his fewest in a game that he’s started since Week 5 of 2024. In the fourth quarter, Allen had an average depth of target of 5.3 yards. Without Allen’s 44-yard arm punt in the second quarter, Allen would have had an average depth of target of 5.47 yards for the game.

This is a secondary that is very difficult to throw on. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson combined to allow zero receptions and zero yards while recording an interception and two pass breakups. There’s no doubt that the Rams need to do better when it comes to tackling at the second and third levels. That’s where the Bills really exploited them.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that the other team has some say as well. Josh Allen is a very good player and there's a reason he was the MVP two years ago. Joe Brady understood that there wouldn't be a lot open down the field, so he cleared out space in the middle and allowed Allen to use his legs.

3. There Were Positive Signs From Rams Special Teams Against the Bills

The special teams unit has looked rough through five weeks, but there are some reasons for optimism. Outside of the opening kickoff that went 70 yards, the average kickoff return went 24.8 yards. On their own kickoff return unit, the Rams had an average starting field position of their own 31-yard line. That’s four yards better than previous weeks. Ethan Evans also had two punts, including a long of 62 yards, and finished with a net punting average of 48 yards.

This seems to be a case of the Rams working so hard to fix one issue that another was overlooked and the details were missed. Jordan Whittington looked good on the kick return unit and Alex Bachman got upfield as well. Overall, the coverage unit was better. It may seem crazy to say, but after last week’s debacle, I think this unit is going to turn a corner. I won’t believe it until I see it, but they may be taking a step in the right direction. 

From the Injury Report

When the initial injury report came out for the Rams this week, it appears they are getting healthier. Tight end Davis Allen remains the only non-participant while tight end Colby Parkinson, linebacker Nate Landman, and cornerback Josh Wallace remain limited. Safety Kam Curl was an addition to the injury report on Thursday with an ankle injury. Also noteworthy is wide receiver Alex Bachman being upgraded from limited to a full participant. 

Also on the injury report was offensive tackle Keagen Trost. The Rams opened Trost’s practice window on Thursday with the plan to activate him off of injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game. 

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