LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams' decision to load up their roster for a championship run in 2021 is now the stuff of NFL legend.
General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay famously acquired Matthew Stafford, Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. for a full-tilt title chase, and that powerhouse team won it all.
Detractors predicted the Rams would eventually have to pay for their aggression, but Snead and McVay said they felt the “all-in” perception was misleading. Los Angeles had enjoyed five straight winning seasons at the time, and the Rams felt their model was sustainable for near-annual playoff runs and title contention.
Less than three years later, the Rams have gone 16-24 and lost their only playoff game since they raised that trophy. Los Angeles is 1-4 at its early bye week this season, sharing the worst record in the NFC with moribund Carolina.
It's impossible to say that the Rams' struggles are purely the long-term result of their shorter-term decisions in that first half-decade. Major injury woes, Aaron Donald's retirement, the annual pillaging of McVay's coaching staff and simple luck have all played roles as well.
What's clear is that the Rams are no longer the machine that purred with consistent excellence in McVay's first half-decade.
They're at another low point in their bye week, yet plenty of season remains — with plenty of opportunities for McVay to rebuild his team into a winner.
“Before you can start winning games, you have to start learning how to not beat yourself,” McVay said after the Rams blew numerous opportunities in their 24-19 loss to Green Bay last Sunday.
No part of the Rams is playing well this season — well, except the special teams, which were the weakest part of the past two squads.
On offense, the Rams' problems largely appear to be injury-related. They're missing Stafford’s top three targets in receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee, but also starting center Jonah Jackson and starting left guard Steve Avila in the middle of their rebuilt offensive line.
Despite another dynamic season from Kyren Williams, they're in the back of the NFL pack in rushing offense — a function of falling behind in every game and being forced to throw. They're also a dismal 24th in scoring, largely because their red-zone offense is 23rd in touchdown rate — probably because Kupp, Nacua and Higbee aren't around for Stafford.
McVay seemed optimistic Monday about getting Kupp back from his ankle injury for next Sunday's visit from Las Vegas, but the coach often speaks ambiguously about injuries. The 36-year-old Stafford is also dealing with back soreness after getting hit far too much behind his patchwork line.
The Rams' problems on defense are much more pronounced, yet there also might be more reason for optimism.
Los Angeles has been terrible under new defensive coordinator Chris Shula, McVay's college teammate and his mildly surprising choice to replace Raheem Morris. The Rams are 29th in total defense, 32nd in rushing defense and 29th in points allowed, with opponents scoring at least 24 points in every game.
McVay and Snead still haven't satisfactorily explained why they dumped Ernest Jones for essentially nothing instead of allowing the linebacker to play out his rookie contract. Jones' absence has been glaring, particularly with savvy offensive coordinators targeting his inferior replacements mercilessly each week.
The defensive line is a shadow of last season's group in Donald's absence, while the revamped secondary has been inconsistent — and new signee Tre'Davious White has already been benched.
But the Rams have one of the NFL’s youngest rosters for the second straight season, and that youth includes a few potential future stars like rookie edge rusher Jared Verse — their first first-round draft pick since 2016 — and second-year nose tackle Kobie Turner.
Los Angeles' few remaining veterans and young talent must all come together if this team hopes to escape another early-season hole.
The Rams always started fast during McVay’s first half-decade in charge, going a combined 19-6 in the first five weeks of his first five seasons. They're 5-10 in the first five weeks of the last three seasons — and except for an impressive 7-1 surge after last season’s bye week to sneak into the playoffs, the Rams are 9-22 since winning it all.
No team has made the playoffs after starting 1-4 since Washington in 2020, but the Rams haven't written off this season.
If Kupp and Nacua return soon to bolster the offense — and if this dismal defense finally makes progress on the backs of its young prospects — McVay believes they've got plenty of time to make another charge back to contention.
“We’re a 1-4 football team, (but) three of those four losses come down to one-possession games,” McVay said. “This is where we’re at. What we have to be able to do (in the bye week) is take a step back, and then we’ve got to really collectively figure out, based on the moving parts (and) some of the different things, what have we done well, and what can we do at a better clip.”
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