
There is usually an offseason darling every year in the NFL, and this time it was the Los Angeles Rams. They added reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to a roster that was already overflowing with talent, and then defensive tackle Aaron Donald came out of retirement.
It instantly made the Rams a strong Super Bowl contender, but the season has gone nothing like they planned so far. Garrett went on injured reserve after the first game of the season, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and Donald hasn’t had the same impact as he did before retirement.
Los Angeles had a 2-3 record heading into Sunday, with two of its losses stemming from blown leads. The team appeared to have one of its easier games of the season against the Arizona Cardinals, but it was a slow, agonizing game for the Rams.
They didn’t score a touchdown until under a minute left in the fourth quarter, and then they swiftly allowed Arizona to march down the field and kick the game-winning field goal. The Rams are now 2-4 on the season after the 18-16 loss, and they are under a tremendous amount of pressure.
Donald came out of retirement because of how fun the team looked from the outside, but now he’s tasked with helping Los Angeles pull itself out of a hole. The 49ers are 5-0 and seem to have a stranglehold on the division, so the paths to a playoff spot are getting slimmer by the day for the Rams.
It’s not time to panic yet, as they’ve had slow starts plenty of times under head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford, but they do need to begin moving with a sense of urgency.
The Rams still have games against the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers left, as well as two games vs. the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions.
There aren’t many layups left on the schedule for the Rams, so they need to begin playing their best football in a hurry. If they don’t, then they could end up as one of the biggest disappointments of the season.
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