The lock to win the Super Bowl before the season is in last place. Think about that.
The Dream Team has turned into a nightmare. The Los Angeles Rams went into the season as the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl for a lot of reasons. They were loaded with talent. They had the reigning MVP in quarterback Matt Stafford leading a high-octane offense.
They added elite edge rusher Myles Garrett and two top corners, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, in the offseason to fix a defense that was a problem in 2025. They have a great coach in Sean McVay.
Despite all of that, the Rams sit at 2-4 and are off a horrible home loss to the Arizona Cardinals as double-digit favorites. They are tumbling down my Power Rankings and will now be without receiver Davante Adams for 6-10 weeks due to a hamstring injury.
The Rams are a mess.
After losing a shootout to the Buffalo Bills last Monday night at home, the Rams had their supposed get-right game against the Cardinals Sunday, but it was far from it. The Rams lost 18-16 on a last-second field goal to continue their disappointing start to the season.
The Rams are 17th in scoring offense and 21st in scoring defense, as average as you can get. That has them last in the NFC West.
Los Angeles can still regroup in the next few weeks thanks to a soft schedule. But it better. The schedule really toughens up late.
Then again, the Cardinals were considered part of the soft schedule too.
The Rams, who are down to No. 18 in my rankings this week, aren’t a fast team on offense, and it shows. On defense, with Garrett missing all but the opener with a knee injury, they are tied for 26th in the league in sacks with eight.
The next four weeks will decide the fate of the Rams. They play at the Raiders, home against the Chargers, at Washington and at Arizona. They need to go at least 3-1 in the stretch. Anything else would be a problem.
The stretch does look like something they can navigate. Then again, how many survivor pools were lost on Los Angeles losing at home to the Cardinals, who came in with one victory?
Dream team? Uh, not quite.
Biggest Movers
|
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
|
They made it interesting against the Commanders, but they still found a way. Now they face a long road trip to play the Falcons on a short week. | — | 6-0-0 |
2 |
|
Coming out of the bye, they dominated the Chargers. The same formula worked: Run it with Kenneth Walker and timely throws by Patrick Mahomes, who is doing more and more each week. | — | 5-0-0 |
3 |
|
They come off their bye as one of three teams without a loss. They do need to juice up the offense some in the coming weeks. | — | 5-0-0 |
4 |
|
They can score. We know that. But the defense gave up 64 points the past two games. Can they win a title that way? | 1 | 5-1-0 |
5 |
|
They beat the Seahawks, but that offense is woeful right now. Bo Nix is not playing well – and that’s being kind. | 3 | 4-2-0 |
6 |
|
They come off their bye with a big division game at Baltimore. The offense hasn’t been as good as expected, but the defense has been better. | 3 | 3-2-0 |
7 |
|
Sam Darnold is turning the ball over way too much. They better hope that’s not something that will continue as they ready to face the Chiefs this week. | — | 3-3-0 |
8 |
|
They have to do a better job rushing the passer if they are to be a deep-playoff team. They have to make a move to get somebody at the trade deadline. | 4 | 4-2-0 |
9 |
|
They have turned their season around the past three weeks as Drake Maye has lit it up. The defense is also getting to the quarterback. | 2 | 4-2-0 |
10 |
|
They are now looking up to the Browns in the division. Yes, that’s real. They need Lamar Jackson back badly. | 4 | 4-2-0 |
11 |
|
The bye last week was a good thing for an ailing team as they ready to face the hot Packers this week. The key is improving the bad defense going forward. | 1 | 3-2-0 |
12 |
|
We knew the offense will get it going with the explosive passing game, but it’s the improved defense that has turned their season around. That unit will be tested on the road this week against the Lions. | 2 | 4-2-0 |
13 |
|
Bouncing back from the loss to the Packers by winning on the road at Atlanta is a good look for this team. Of course it helps to have Caleb Williams back. | 2 | 4-2-0 |
14 |
|
Bryce Young for MVP? It’s legitimate. He’s playing his best football right now. They are in first place because of it. | 6 | 3-2-0 |
15 |
|
That was a big-time victory in London over the Jaguars. C.J. Stroud is really playing at a high level, but the defense has to pick it up. | 8 | 2-4-0 |
16 |
|
Can you believe they are in first place in the AFC North after six games? Amazing. The defense is top-10 in scoring right now. Impressive. | 3 | 4-2-0 |
17 |
|
At 4-2, they are tied atop the AFC North. But do we really know how good or bad they are? The defense showed up against the Bucs. | 4 | 4-2-0 |
18 |
|
The next four games will decide their season, starting this week at the Raiders. They need to go at least 3-1 in this part of the schedule or they can kiss the division goodbye. | 8 | 2-4-0 |
19 |
|
The offense is suddenly having some issues, which I didn’t see coming. But in their bad division, there is still time to turn it around, starting this week at Philadelphia. | 2 | 2-4-0 |
20 |
|
It should be J.J. McCarthy time. He did a nice job coming in for Jameis Winston at quarterback against the Saints. | 4 | 3-2-1 |
21 |
|
Without Jalen Hurts, they are in big trouble. The injuries have crippled this team. The season has turned into a disaster. | — | 2-4-0 |
22 |
|
They’ve lost three straight games to fall to 3-3, but there is a lot to like about this team. They face a big one with the Rams this week. | 4 | 3-3-0 |
23 |
|
That was a terrible showing for most of the game against the Bears. At least they showed some fight and made a game of it. | 1 | 2-4-0 |
24 |
|
The loss to the Titans could be a damning blow to this regime. They have to turn it around or else. | — | 2-4-0 |
25 |
|
They have a chance to get to 3-4 with a victory over Miami this week. The good news is a lot of young players are contributing as they build for the future. | — | 2-4-0 |
26 |
|
With the heat from the owner, they won a tough road game against the Giants. But they sure did make it interesting. | — | 2-4-0 |
27 |
|
Beating the Rams on the road is a big deal for this young team. They had been trending in the wrong direction, but the defense came up big. | — | 2-4-0 |
28 |
|
They did a nice job battling back against the 49ers, but another loss keeps them in last in their division. The heat is on Dan Quinn. | — | 1-4-1 |
29 |
|
They are in big trouble after losing to the Steelers. The seat under Todd Bowles is getting really hot. | — | 1-5-0 |
30 |
|
It wasn’t pretty against the Colts, but they found way to win a game. That’s big for this young team. | 1 | 1-5-0 |
31 |
|
One more stop and they will be in the bottom spot. Who saw that coming? At 0-6, they are a mess. | 1 | 0-6-0 |
32 |
|
The bye week was good to them. They didn’t lose. But with the Titans winning, they are one of only two teams without a victory. | — | 0-5-0 |
