Turf Show Times
It had been nine years since the last time a team had at least 580 total yards and lost, but that’s what the L.A. Rams did on Thursday against the Seahawks in overtime. The Rams had their highest offensive output of the entire Sean McVay era but couldn’t find a way to win when ironically three of their last four drives in regular completely stalled out, allowing Seattle to force the extra period and win on a two-point conversion.
Regardless, the Rams offense continues to dominate NFL opponents by putting up their third consecutive game with at least 500 total yards. One more and the Rams will set a new NFL record for consecutive games with 500+ yards.
They next face a Falcons team with a defensive coached by Raheem Morris that will be very familiar to McVay and Matthew Stafford.
The Rams are the first team since the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 to go three consecutive games with at least 500 yards. They are the only team on this list of five to only turn the ball over one time during its streak.
The New England Patriots, who went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Giants in 2011, only turned it over twice during their streak. However, this streak was carried over from the previous season, so it was the last regular season game of 2010 and the first two games of 2011.
The 1982 Chargers hold the record for most yards during such a streak with 1,706, 76 more yards than L.A.’s streak, but that number is tainted because there was a strike in 1982. Even so, Don Coryell is a legend for a reason.
The 1998 49ers had over 500 yards in each of their first three games that season, culminating in a 31-20 win over the Falcons in Week 3. However, it was the Falcons who knocked San Francisco out of the playoffs in the divisional round, 20-18. It would be the last real season for Steve Young, who was retired three games into the 1999 season.
The Cowboys came out as an offensive juggernaut under Mike McCarthy in 2020, leading the NFL in total yards and scoring through five weeks. But couldn’t wake up from a defensive nightmare and lost more than they won. That was also the year that Dak Prescott broke his ankle in Week 5.
None of these teams won the Super Bowl and only the Patriots came close. The Rams have been an unstoppable offensive juggernaut, but in many ways are struggling from the same defensive and special teams follies of the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys probably could have made the playoffs with Dak instead of Andy Dalton, so the Rams don’t have to worry about being that bad, but L.A. will need to play more complete football moving forward to get past three or four playoff teams to win it all.
The Falcons have many issues, but defense is sort of...
