❚ Rams stake claim as elite,
LOS ANGELES – There’s certainly no dispute. The Rams are the best team in L.A. For now.
On Sunday, they thumped the other L.A. team, the Chargers, 35-23 at the Coliseum.
So to the Rams go the bragging rights. But the Rams are thinking much bigger than reigning supreme in the nation’s second-largest market.
How about the best team in the NFL? Sure, that’s so risky to declare in September. Especially in the NFL, where anything can happen.
See the score from Minneapolis? The Bills and their rookie quarterback, Josh Allen, hung one on the Vikings and ultra-rich quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Jaguars bum-rushed and shredded the Patriots in Week 2 but couldn’t score a touchdown or beat the Titans, who were down 1 1⁄2 quarterbacks on Sunday.
Declare any and everything about the NFL power structure at your own risk.
But two things on display against the Bolts solidify the case for the Rams: consistency and balance.
After winning with 33 points on opening weekend and with 34 the next week, the Rams put up another season high. That’s consistency. It’s also a sign of improvement, as the high-powered offense built by coach Sean McVay has started with even better production that it had last year when the Rams led the NFL in scoring (29.9 points per game).
The balance is distinctive enough, too. And not just with the multiple weapons that get involved on offense. The big plays can come from any unit. In the second quarter on Sunday, Blake Countess scored a touchdown by recovering a punt that was blocked in the end zone by Cory Littleton. In the third quarter, Aqib Talib stripped Keenan Allen, allowing the Rams to convert that fumble into a 53-yard Jared Goff-to-Cooper Kupp touchdown. Call it complementary balance.
There’s too much football to be played to assume anything. But the Rams are off to a great start, with the pieces in place to be a stronger contender than last season.
And they are surely the best team in L.A.
Three other things we learned:
❚ McVay spreads the wealth: Todd Gurley is the star and Goff the triggerman, but the Rams are nobody’s twotrick pony. They had layers upon layers of participation. Check out the rushing attack. On top of another 100-yard day from Gurley (and a 16-yard scramble from Goff ), McVay did much to involve his wide receivers in the running game. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp had handoffs on jet sweeps, combining for
10 yards on four carries. And when they weren’t actually running from such action, Woods, Kupp and Brandin Cooks often posed threats as “ghosts” — running the jet-sweep patterns without getting the ball. Also, Gurley’s backup, Malcolm Brown, ripped 34 yards on three runs in the second quarter. And there was similar multiplicity in the passing attack as Goff (29 of 36, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) completed passes to six different targets.
❚ Cost factor: Rams cornerback Marcus Peters suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. Peters was one of the Rams’ key offseason pickups, teaming with fellow Pro Bowl newcomer Aqib Talib to provide the Rams with arguably the NFL’s best cornerback tandem. The extent of Peters’ injury was not immediately known, but if it sidelines him for an extended period, it could be a huge loss. Peters was off to an impressive start. And he wasn’t the only setback. Linebacker Dominque Easley went down with a knee injury and returner JoJo Natson (brought back to sub for injured Pro Bowler Pharoh Cooper) was knocked out with a hand injury.
Be like Mike?
❚ After an injury-stung rookie campaign, Mike Williams is demonstrating precisely why the Chargers selected the Clemson product last year with the No. 7 overall pick. The bigplay receiver scored two touchdowns against the Rams, hauling a 42-yard pass from Philip Rivers in the first quarter when he hung on to the ball despite crashing his head on the turf upon his landing. In the third quarter, Williams over-powered Lamarcus Joyner near the goal line to finish off a 20-yard TD. On the season, Williams has already matched the 11 receptions he posted as a rookie.