The Los Angeles Rams entered the 2026 season with their sights on making a Super Bowl push in similar fashion to their 2021 run that culminated with them lifting the Lombardi Trophy on their home field at SoFi Stadium.
Six games in, however, they look more like the 2022 version of the Rams that went 5-12 and missed the playoffs entirely.
For the second game in a row, LA's fate was decided by a field goal. Newly signed kicker Blake Grupe injured himself in the first quarter, leaving the Rams without a healthy kicker on the roster and forced to turn to punter Ethan Evans – who hadn't kicked a field goal in his NFL career entering Sunday.
The 25-year-old got his moment when he gave the Rams the lead with his PAT following Colby Parkinson's touchdown with 47 seconds left in regulation, but an unnecessary roughness call on cornerback Josh Wallace set the Arizona Cardinals up for a field goal of their own.
Sure enough, Chad Ryland booted a walk-off 43-yarder through the uprights as time expired, adding another frustrating end for McVay and Co.
Here are the winners and losers from the Rams' 18-16 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday:
WINNERS
Ethan Evans
Evans, the Rams' punter, would've had the biggest moment of the game when he gave the Rams the lead with 47 seconds left on his PAT – the first field goal of his NFL career.
But just when it looked like the Rams had locked up the win to get back to .500, Jacoby Brissett's 21-yard pass to Jalen Brooks was enhanced by an unnecessary roughness call on cornerback Josh Wallace, tacking on an extra 15 yards and pushing the Cardinals into field goal range, setting them up for the game-winning field goal.
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LOSERS
Aaron Donald
Donald played arguably his best game since coming out of his two-year retirement, making his presence felt in the backfield with three total tackles, one tackle for loss and a QB hit. It wasn't enough to get the Rams the win, however.
This isn't the version of the Rams Donald unretired for; the eight-time All-Pro made it clear he wanted to be part of one more Super Bowl run. That doesn't appear to be likely at this point, though the D-Line hasn't been at full strength all season with Myles Garrett on the IR after undergoing knee surgery following the season opener in Australia. With his return appearing to inch closer, maybe that can be the spark the Rams need to right the ship.
Blake Grupe
It was a tough break for the Rams' special teams unit, which thought it got the shakeup it needed when Grupe signed after Harrison Mevis was released following his missed potential game-winning field goal in overtime against the Buffalo Bills on Monday.
Instead, Grupe hurt himself in the first quarter tackling Devin Duvernay out of bounds on a kick return. Grupe went into the locker room with a knee injury and never returned. His status going forward is unknown at the moment.
Rams offense
Grupe's early injury shifted McVay's strategy. Without a healthy kicker on the roster, the Rams went for two after scoring the first touchdown of the game; Stafford fumbled and the Cardinals nearly took it all the way back if not for Jordan Whittington. In the third quarter, the Rams went for it on fourth and 1 from Arizona's 27-yard line; tight end Davis Allen was stuffed for no gain. That's four points that the Rams left on the table – understandably so, given the circumstances – but it's those four points that ended up making the difference in this one.
Big picture-wise, the Rams offense took a blow when Davante Adams left with a non-contact injury on their final drive of the game and promptly limped off to the sideline. No update has been given on his status.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is it time to panic in LA? Winners, losers from Rams' Week 6 loss to Cardinals
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