Why Rams Enter Bye As Legitimate Championship Contenders

Four years ago, Stafford had an incredible season with only one snag: he led the league in interceptions. Those foolish, gunslinger moments pop up here and there, but it is notable to display what is happening with the 37-year-old signal-caller: he is playing his best football as one of the league leaders in passing yards and has a 17-2 touchdown to interception ratio that has put him squarely in the MVP conversation at the halfway mark.

On the other side of the ball, the Rams defense, flaws and all, sacked Trevor Lawrence seven times with help from star pass rusher Jared Verse and one of the league leaders in sacks, Byron Young. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula limited big-time opportunities for the passing game, and a silenced run game that was supposed to be violent and unique turned bland and uninteresting. It was yet another statement performance from this defense.

McVay and his group will have the bye week to reset and get healthy ahead of another unique stretch of matchups: they host the New Orleans Saints off the bye, followed by a road trip up the I-5 to San Francisco and home games against the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before hitting the road again to face a currently hot Carolina Panthers team in Week 13.

However, if McVay and Los Angeles continue to show the confidence and defensive dominance of the last two weeks on top of a productive passing game from Stafford, this should not be a difficult stretch. They may be humble about it, but the Rams know as a team they are one of the best in football and can be aggressive at the trade deadline if they so please.

The Jaguars felt the wrath of the Rams at their best, defensively, with their offense still scratching the surface of what they can truly be as a potentially high-end unit. They've put the NFL, the NFC West, and other conference contenders on notice as serious championship foes.