Turf Show Times
If there is one guarantee about the 2025 version of the Los Angeles Rams, it’s that they are going to make games more interesting than they need to be. That was once again the case on Thursday Night, but this time, playing with fire burned them as they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 26-23. Despite blowing a 26-7 lead two weeks ago, this loss may be the most disappointing one in the Sean McVay era. Let’s get to our 10 takeaways.
If Thursday night proved anything, it’s that you cannot underrate any team in this league. You have to show up ready to play. This game was as if the Rams had read the injury reports and thought they’d be able to cruise to a win. The NFL is more than just about showing up. The fact that the Rams came out in primetime against a division rival at home with no energy is a cause for concern. Those are the games you get up for during the season.
The offense didn’t show up for the first quarter and the defense didn’t find its stride until the fourth. Special teams was a disaster for most of the night as a high snap and poor protection led to a missed field goal and an extra point was blocked. Everything was very lackadaisical and just going through the motions too often this game and it was costly.
For a majority of this game, the Rams defense wasn’t a unit that I recognized. They seemed ok just letting Mac Jones complete pass after pass underneath. Jones was more than ok with that as he threw for 342 yards. This is a 49ers wide receiver group that can create after the catch. Kendrick Bourne had 142 yards receiving. The Rams forced a 1st-and-15 and 1st-and-20 on the opening drive in combination with a 3rd-and-8 on the second drive. In all three cases, the 49ers converted and ended up scoring two touchdowns.
This defense played like the one of the last few years. They were ok allowing 10-15 play drives and giving up yards. However, they were going up against a team more than ok playing that way. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Rams finally started to force the issue and the pass rush finally showed up.
The Rams will have 10 days to decide whether or not they want to trade for a cornerback. We witnessed tonight what the Rams defense looks like when the pass rush can’t get home. This is a defense predicated on being able to get to the quarterback. That is their entire identity. However, if they can’t get to the quarterback, the cornerback position simply doesn’t have the talent to hold up over time.
Darious Williams simply doesn’t have it anymore and while Cobie Durant is fine, his size is an issue...
