All That Glitters is NOT Blue and Gold

Remember when LA sports fans were on a big time high? The Lakers had LeBron, the Dodgers ruled baseball, and Super Bowl plans for the Rams at SoFi started this past summer. Yes, it was insufferable, but let's face facts: the merit was there. There was enough merit to fill up all of Los Angeles County, and it could spill over into Orange County. The Angelenos were feasting and pounding their chests.

And then this past week happened. The Dodgers? GONE. Swept in the NLCS. The Lakers? A joke. LeBron's now in Philly, and their little brothers in the Clippers continue to be somehow worse. The Kings? No wins as of this point. As for the Rams? Oh boy. Where do I start? When they got Myles Garrett, people didn't ask if the Rams win get to Super Bowl LXI, they asked who'd they beat. Not only that, Aaron Donald came back. And the Super Bowl's in SoFi! It was all handed to them on a silver platter.

The Rams' 2026 season started in Australia, and it was a mess. The rival 49ers totally trashed them, all because the Rams arrived a day before kickoff, while the Niners were already there practicing. Even worse than the thrashing, Donald didn't play, and while Garrett did, he was hurt. Yikes. Week 2 was much better, they beat down the New York Giants, because everybody does. However, they had to do so without their top receiver, Puka Nacua, who was out for that game and for the game after against the Broncos on Sunday Night Football. In that battle, the Rams led 16-0... and lost.

Next up was a struggling Philadelphia Eagles game on the road, and Puka was back. They had to come back to beat an Eagles team who was injured to all hell, but they won it. The Monday Night battle with the Buffalo Bills was next, and it was quite the offense-laden battle that ended up going to OT. A Bills turnover allowed the Rams to only need a field goal, but when the kick was set up, it was blocked. Bills later got to FG range, and they made their kick.

So the Rams were 2-3 and in a bit of trouble. They needed to get back on track very fast. Luckily, they had the Arizona Cardinals, the punching bag of the NFC West. And the game was in SoFi. The Rams had this.

Until they didn't.

Rams actually trailed 6-3, but they did find the end zone, only to actually go for two (in the 2nd quarter) and fall short. It was 9-6 Rams, but the Cards tied it up with their third field goal of the game. 9-9 at halftime, and the Cards' kicking extravaganza continued with two more FGs to go up 15-9. Arizona could not find the end zone, yet somehow, they were winning. However, late in the fourth quarter, the Rams had one hell of a drive thanks to Puka Nacua, and a pass to Colby Parkinson in the end zone made it 16-15 Rams with 47 seconds left in regulation.

They were about to get away with it, folks. We've seen it before from teams. Even the greatest dynasties have a few games that they should have lost but win anyway thanks to luck and high-end talent coming through in the right time. Cards had the ball at their own 35, and their first play was a 21-yard pass to the Rams' 44, which was bad enough, without an unnecessary roughness penalty making it worse. An additional 15 yards placed the ball at the Rams' 29, and all they needed to do was kill the rest of the clock and get the FG. Chad Ryland's sixth field goal of the game was the winner, and the Rams lost at home to the Cardinals, 18-16.

Once upon a time, the Rams were big time super favorites to at least win the conference, let alone Super Bowl LXI. Six weeks in, and they're 2-4. Even worse, because of this loss to the Cardinals, the Rams are actually in last place in the NFC West via tiebreaker. Here's how bad it is for them. The Cleveland Browns, who traded Myles Garrett to the Rams? They're in first place in the AFC North via tiebreaker at 4-2. With the Cardinals' win, they've won more times at SoFi this season (twice) than the Rams and Chargers combined. The NFC has a cluster of 2-4 teams, but the Rams are in the bottom of that cluster. Only the Commanders and Buccaneers are worse, but if the Commanders win on Monday, that will push the Rams down to #15 in the conference.

So what's the real problem? Would you believe there are some people delusional enough to blame Sean McVay? McVay resurrected that team and kept them good for years. They have had bad injuries, but the main problem on this team is Matthew Stafford. The man is cooked. This is not the same Stafford from five years prior when they won the Super Bowl and he was glad to be out of Detroit. He doesn't have it anymore. He's been making bad decisions left and right for a vast majority of the season. At least three of these losses are on him. They made a scapegoat out of Harrison Mevis, and people tried to blame the defense, but they kept Zona out of the end zone all day. 18 points is beatable. If you can't beat 18, that's an offensive problem, and that is all on the QB. Stafford needs to do like his buddy Clayton Kershaw did and just retire.

Now I only said the Rams are in trouble. They are not out of it, not by a long shot. Their bye is Week 10. The four games prior to that: @ LV, vs LAC (Battle of SoFi), @ WSH, @ ARI. Rams should win all four of those games, but I don't know. Raiders could be a challenge, and while the other three should be easy, the Rams have had problems getting things done. Take the Raiders away, and you're looking at a combined record of 3-13-1 for the other three teams.

A third of the season's gone, but the Rams are in a deep hole. The next four weeks will determine if they still have a legit shot, or if they'll see their season come to an abrupt and shocking early end.