Things change quickly in the NFL, as we’ve seen with the Los Angeles Rams. They went from looking like a playoff contender before Week 1 to now being viewed as one of the weakest teams in the league after two games.
Injuries have decimated the roster on both sides of the ball and the team will now be without Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Steve Avila, John Johnson III, Jonah Jackson and several other key players for multiple weeks. Losing by 31 points to the Cardinals doesn’t help the morale, either.
Already at 0-2, the Rams now have to face the 49ers in Week 3 and a loss in that game could end any hope of reaching the postseason for a second straight year.
Experts have released their Week 3 power rankings and the Rams took a nosedive toward the bottom of the polls. It’s clear they’re no longer seen as a threat in the NFC with all the injuries they’ve suffered, as no expert put the Rams higher than 20th in this week’s rankings.
USA Today: 26th (last week: 10th)
ESPN: 20th (last week: 10th)
NFL.com: 25th (last week: 14th)
CBS Sports: 25th (last week: 19th)
Bleacher Report: 23rd (last week: 10th)
ProFootballTalk: 24th (last week: 15th)
Yahoo Sports: 25th (last week: 10th)
The Athletic: 26th (last week: 19th)
FOX Sports: 21st (last week: 9th)
The Ringer: 23rd (last week: 13th)
High: 20th – Low: 26th – Average: 23.8
The season is far from over, but the Rams are in danger of falling out of playoff contention already. Since 1970, 218 teams have started 0-3 and only five of them made the playoffs. A loss to the 49ers would put Sean McVay’s squad in dangerous territory after only three weeks.
Thankfully, they still have Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Kobie Turner, Byron Young and Jared Verse, but there are only so many losses a team can suffer before it becomes a shell of itself.
