Los Angeles Rams, Sorry For Your Loss!

What a great time to be alive… in the hunt for the NFL playoffs. Right now, there’s so much traffic of mediocre teams vying to get into the mix for a big January push. Week twelve saw a number of hopefuls humbled. Some were brought down by weather, some by injuries, and others are clearly running on fumes waiting for the sweet release of January. We are in the midst of the rise and fall or flash in the pan that is the Los Angeles Rams after the Chiefs spanked them last week.

Sorry for your loss, Los Angeles Rams. Your season is over!

Matthew Stafford was out due to the concussion protocol for this “when they made the schedule” spicy matchup with Kansas City. While we hoped for an exceptional game between a defending champ and a championship favorite, instead we basically watched the Chiefs starters get a chance to relive that missed preseason game with L.A.’s backups in key roles.

The Rams are bottoming out hard in front of our very eyes. Records show this is one of the worst outputs from a defending champ through week twelve, and they’ve earned every bit of that honor. It’s worth noting all that was missing for LA in this game. They didn’t have their starting QB, two starting O-linemen, and two of their top WR targets. Van Jefferson fantasy owners, this was your moment! Just kidding.

The first half of the game was relatively calm. The Chiefs were able to get on the board with a Kelce first-quarter reception for 39 yards. Both teams played a cute game of ping pong in the second quarter, settling for field goals and ending the half with a lackluster 13-3 score.

Ripping the Rams’ offense while they entered the game with subs isn’t a cheap shot. We have been told for years that the future of the league is Shannahan and McVay-like schemes. Sure, Bryce Perkins is not Matthew Stafford but you’d think that any functional quarterback working under McVay could find a way to throw beyond 100 yards for the game. The odd fact about the game is that Perkins was also the top rusher for the Rams. Oh, Cam Akers, we feel for you. Soon you will be given the same glorious sendoff the Rams gave Todd Gurley, Sony Michel, and Darrell Henderson.

What worked so well last year for LA was how powerful the sides of the ball were so consistent and able to not let each other down. The Rams’ defense was simply benign. If only we could expect the pass rush to be functional. Who’s that guy who’s a generational talent? Aaron Donald? Oh yeah, he racked up three tackles! Looks like someone is submitting overtime on their timecard. LA’s defense got to Mahomes twice all game. Sure, you have to fill out a permission slip to hit the face of the NFL, but two hits all game? They must be hoping to be picked up as a Chief in the off-season.

So, here we are. Three months into this season and the last place LA Rams are worse than the Arizona Cardinals. That is a jagged pill to swallow, even for the bandwagoners of SoCal. The prodigy calling the plays has the Rams nearly the worse (31st) rushing attack in the league and points for (29th). Congrats on channeling your inner Adam Gase, Mr. McVay.

As they say in Hollywood, the sequel nearly never lives up to the original. This season is very much the Ace Ventura 2 of campaigns for the Rams. And mercifully, like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr., we can quickly move on and forget that anything after the Super Bowl ever happened.