Super Bowl favorite Rams are back in a familiar position, sitting under .500 after 5 games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have been one of the NFL’s most consistent winners in their decade under coach Sean McVay.

Yet during four of the past five seasons, they’ve also been under .500 at this early point in the year.

The preseason Super Bowl favorites are back in that familiar October spot after falling to 2-3 with their wild, 37-34 overtime loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

History suggests there’s little actual reason for Rams fans to worry yet about a team with the NFL’s most productive offense and third-stingiest defense. McVay has a long history of fixing his team’s early-season problems, and Los Angeles made the playoffs after two of those three previous slow starts over the past half-decade.

Yet the Rams’ failures this season have many sources, and McVay has plenty of work to do.

“None of it makes me feel good right now,” McVay said after the Rams rallied to force OT against the Bills, only to be undone by Harrison Mevis’ final missed field goal and Josh Allen’s unstoppable scrambles.

“I’m proud of the effort, but none of how I feel is positive other than I’m proud of the resilience, the guts that our team displayed,” McVay added. “But there’s no … I don’t even know what you want to call it. Congrats to the Bills, and I’m excited about how we move forward.”

Los Angeles’ biggest problems have been on special teams this year, and McVay took a big step toward change Tuesday by cutting Mevis and signing Blake Grupe, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

Yet Mevis, who has missed a league-high four field goal attempts this season, wasn’t responsible for the Bills’ 70-yard kickoff return to open the game. He also wasn’t the blocker who allowed Greg Rousseau to get a hand on Mevis’ overtime field goal attempt.

Aside from special teams, the Rams aren’t in terrible shape — despite their record.

Their offense leads the league with 424.4 yards per game after topping the league last season — although the Rams’ scoring has declined from an NFL-best 30.5 points per game last season to just 23.8 this year, largely because of their seven-point Melbourne debacle.

LA’s defense ranks third in the NFL with 285.2 yards per game allowed, and that’s with no impact from reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

What’s working

Matthew Stafford spammed the Puka Nacua button against the Bills for a whopping 24 targets, and the All-Pro receiver responded with a career-high 17 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. Davante Adams added two more TD receptions after leading the league last season. The Rams’ passing attack remains the NFL’s most productive, and running back Kyren Williams has emerged as a force with 27 receptions already, just nine shy of his career high for a season.

What needs help

Another major problem developed after the game when left tackle Alaric Jackson punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb during the postgame jersey exchanges. Jackson, who is already under league scrutiny for an offseason arrest, is likely to face a suspension — and the Rams don’t have a solid backup for the most important position on their offensive line, possibly relying on 36-year-old David Quessenberry, who has barely played in the NFL since 2023.

Stock up

Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson have been just as good as the Rams hoped when they added the Kansas City duo in the offseason. Watson had one interception and nearly made another against the Bills, while McDuffie’s assigned receivers weren’t even targeted once by Allen. The Rams held Buffalo to 210 yards passing, with 128 of that coming on just three catch-and-runs.

Stock down

Allen is a nightmare for most defenses, but he ran all over the Rams and exposed their weaknesses at linebacker. Nate Landman forced two fumbles with his famed Peanut Punch, but he was no match for Allen in the open field. Quentin Lake had a poor game in coverage at nickel back, and the Rams missed too many tackles overall.

Injuries

Garrett is now eligible to return to practice four weeks after his knee surgery, but the Rams have given no indication he’s ready to do that.

Key number

5 — The number of kickers the Rams have employed since they allowed Super Bowl winner Matt Gay to walk in free agency in early 2022. Gay made a franchise-best 92% of his field goal attempts in a horned helmet, and none of his first four replacements has done better than 79%.

Next steps

The Rams’ schedule is about as friendly as possible for a midseason rally: Their next six opponents before December are a combined 8-16-1, and they play the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals twice, including Sunday.

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