There weren’t many non-Rams fans picking Los Angeles to upset the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Rams were 7.5-point underdogs against a team that’s believed to be one of the best in the NFL, and they went back and forth with them for most of the afternoon.
Los Angeles even led 17-10 with 1:45 left in the first half before allowing a game-tying touchdown as time expired. San Francisco added 10 straight points to begin the second half, going up 27-17 on the Rams, but even then, the game wasn’t over.
Buy Rams TicketsThe Rams eventually made it 27-20 with about 7 minutes left to play and got the ball back with 5:29 remaining and a chance to tie it. That’s when Matthew Stafford threw a back-breaking interception, handing the 49ers three points and a 10-point lead. At that point, it was just about out of reach.
But for 55 minutes, the Rams hung with the 49ers – the mighty 49ers who so many have picked to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. If Los Angeles can go toe-to-toe with San Francisco, why can’t it compete with the rest other top teams across the league?
Given the Rams’ upcoming schedule, they’ll have to contend with many of the league’s best teams if they want to make the playoffs. They have the Bengals in Week 3, who are winless and potentially without Joe Burrow, but after that, they get the Eagles in Week 5, the Cowboys in Week 8, the Browns in Week 13, the Ravens in Week 14 and the 49ers again in the season finale.
Even the Packers in Week 9 will be a test for Los Angeles, especially on the road at Lambeau Field.
The Rams might only be 1-1, but they’ve shown they aren’t going to be an easy out in any single week as long as they’re remotely healthy. Matthew Stafford is playing at a high level, Sean McVay’s play calling has been brilliant and Puka Nacua is doing everything he can to fill the Cooper Kupp void – and doing it extremely well.
There are still questions about the run defense and secondary, but Byron Young brings some promise at edge rusher and Kobie Turner is doing a nice job on the interior. And on offense, the shift to Kyren Williams seems to have been a wise decision, going away from the inefficient Cam Akers.
For a team that some accused of tanking before the season began, the Rams sure look like a group that’ll be battling for a playoff spot in December. A nine- or 10-win season is very possible now, too. And this is all after losing to the 49ers, and with Kupp sidelined for another two weeks.
Had Stafford’s pass not gone through Kyren Williams’ hands for an interception, and had Stafford not thrown that late pick in the fourth quarter, the Rams might’ve had a really good chance to win this one – something McVay knows is true.
“I don’t want to say a missed opportunity, but I think there’s learning opportunities,” he said after the game. “That’s what it is. Ultimately, we didn’t come away with the result that we were hunting up, but there were a lot of good things that we can take away. There’s a lot of things, like I said, I’m excited to dive into this tape, really look at it because that margin for error is really small. You give them credit, they’re a really good football team. They’ve been given their flowers for a reason because of great coaches, great players and they came and I thought it was a high-caliber football game that you guys witnessed today.”
If Burrow plays next Monday, it’ll be a good test for the Rams going on the road against the Bengals. If he doesn’t, it’ll be a game they should certainly win, as will the next one against the Colts.
There are plenty of tests coming up for the Rams but they passed one on Sunday despite coming away with the loss.
