A Super Bowl roster with a special teams circus: Rams have nobody to blame but themselves

Different week, same disaster.

The Los Angeles Rams have spent millions of dollars assembling a Super Bowl-caliber roster, brought Aaron Donald out of retirement, traded for Myles Garrett and hired veteran coordinator Bubba Ventrone to repair their perpetually broken special teams unit.

Unfortunately, Ventrone and the special teams unit needs to go into the witness protection program. 

Because at this point, nobody in a Rams uniform should want to be associated with it. 

On Monday night at SoFi Stadium, in front of a nationally televised audience, the Rams special teams inexplicably found another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, suffering a gut-wrenching 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills after Harrison Mevis saw his potential game-winning field goal blocked. 

It was the latest chapter in a special teams horror story that has become so predictable, even Hollywood would reject the script.

And this time, Sean McVay has nobody left to blame but himself.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been this pissed after a game,” McVay said. “With our field goal unit. Not even close to good enough and it cost us the game tonight.”

The Rams had already survived Josh Allen’s brilliance, rallied to force overtime and recovered a Buffalo fumble on the opening possession of the extra period.

The game was theirs for the taking.

Matthew Stafford and the offense marched into Buffalo territory, but once the Rams reached the 30-yard line, McVay suddenly developed cold feet.

Facing third-and-5, with an opportunity to move closer or potentially score the winning touchdown, McVay dialed up a conservative run that went nowhere.

Mevis trotted out for a 48-yard attempt, was iced by the Bills and then his kick was promptly blocked. And judging by its trajectory, it probably would have missed anyway.

Buffalo took over possession, Allen ran down the field untouched and Tyler Bass kicked the winning 45-yard field goal.

Game over. Another masterpiece ruined by the NFL’s most dysfunctional special teams operation.

“I felt like I hit it good,” Mevis said afterward. “They had a good rush game, but I felt like I hit it good and gave it a chance.”

Unfortunately, giving it a chance isn’t good enough when your teammates have spent four quarters doing everything they can to put you into a position to win the game. 

And the worst part is that this wasn’t the only special teams mistake of the game. The warning signs were there from the opening kickoff and even carried over from last week in Philadelphia. Heck, they’ve been prevalent for the last two seasons in Los Angeles.

Buffalo’s Ray Davis returned Ethan Evans’ opening kickoff to start the game 70 yards to the Rams’ 26-yard line, gifting the Bills three points before Stafford even touched the football.

On the Rams’ opening possession, Mevis pushed a 50-yard field goal wide left.

Two misses Monday. Three missed field goals in two games. Three blocked field goals since the beginning of last season, tied for the most in football.

At what point does incompetence become an organizational philosophy?

“I’m going to evaluate everything,” McVay said.

He should start with the mirror.

The Rams hired Bubba Ventrone to fix their special teams mess after cycling through coordinators, kickers and returners. Yet somehow, the operation has gotten worse.

Through five weeks, Los Angeles ranks dead last in special teams EPA at minus-31.8, including last-place rankings in field goals and kickoff coverage.

Since the start of 2025, the Rams have accumulated an astonishing minus-84.3 special teams EPA. The next-worst team, New Orleans, sits at minus-65.1.

According to Next Gen Stats, Los Angeles lost approximately 110 percentage points of cumulative win probability on special teams plays last season.

Five games into 2026, they’ve already surrendered another 104.

That’s not an anomaly. That’s a franchise-wide failure.

And the most infuriating part is what it’s wasting.

The Rams offense generated 20.2 total EPA against Buffalo, the highest mark by a losing team this season. Their offensive performance ranked in the 99th percentile by EPA per drive.

They became the first team in NFL history to lose despite gaining more than 450 yards, committing zero turnovers and benefiting from more than 100 opponent penalty yards.

Stafford has now suffered four losses over the past two seasons despite throwing for at least 370 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The rest of the NFL has combined for none.

Think about that.

McVay has built an offensive Ferrari, assembled an imposing defensive front and attached a special teams unit with four flat tires.

The solution requires more than another angry postgame press conference.

Bring in kicking competition immediately. Reevaluate the protection schemes. Demand accountability from Ventrone and Evans. Stop treating special teams personnel decisions like an afterthought.

And perhaps most importantly, stop putting games in the hands of a unit that has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot be trusted.

“I’m sick right now with myself,” McVay admitted.

He should be.

Because the Rams are now 2-3, and unless something changes immediately, this enormously talented roster risks following the infamous 2010 San Diego Chargers into football infamy.

That team had the NFL’s top-ranked offense and defense but missed the playoffs because its special teams were historically awful.

The Rams are dangerously close to having history repeat itself. 

And if they do, it won’t be because Stafford wasn’t good enough or Donald couldn’t turn back the clock.

It’ll be because the third phase of football became a weekly exercise in self-destruction, and nobody in the organization figured out how to stop it.

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