The Los Angeles Rams walked out of Sunday night at 1-2, and Davante Adams wasn’t interested in turning that into a full-blown crisis.
After the Broncos stormed back for a 30-26 win on SNF, Adams made it clear he sees a team that’s playing solid football even if the record hasn’t shown it yet. The Rams piled up more than 482 yards of offense and held the ball for 34:29, but Denver finished the job with a late surge, capped by Bo Nix scrambling for a rushing touchdown with under a minute left.
Adams had plenty of his own production in the loss. Working against Patrick Surtain II all night, he finished with 137 receiving yards on seven catches, including a 49-yard grab. He didn’t find the end zone, but he was one of the Rams’ biggest weapons in a game they controlled for long stretches before it slipped away.
Following the game, Adams addressed where the Rams stand after this start, which also includes the loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
"It's nothing to freak out about, man. It's a lot of football left, it's not like we not playing good ball," Adams told reporters from the locker room. "Based on our situation, this league is about wins and losses, so there's a lot that we can take from a game like this and feel good about, but there's no moral victories."
He said he’d need to go back and study the film before giving a full assessment of what went wrong, but his view was that the answer is going to be found in practice and in sharper execution.
Adams also pointed to the 49ers game as the one real exception to how he feels the Rams have played, saying the team is playing good football "excluding that first game" against San Francisco. In that 27-7 loss in Australia, the Rams were outplayed, held the ball less than their opponent, struggled on third down, and came up empty on two red-zone chances.
Sunday night had looked far more comfortable for Los Angeles early on. The Rams led 16-0 at halftime before Denver answered with a 16-0 third quarter and then matched the Rams again in the fourth. Nix’s final drive gave the Broncos their first win of the season and left the Rams looking for a response.
That chance comes Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Philadelphia Eagles, though the Rams have not been sharp in away games so far this season.
In Other News...
Matthew Stafford Sparked A Broncos Debate With His Tunnel Exit
A postgame video from Empower Field gave Broncos fans something else to talk about after the win over the Rams, and it had nothing to do with the scoreboard. Matthew Stafford was seen walking through the tunnel and appearing to spit, with some viewers wondering whether it was aimed at Denvers 5280 sign, though there was no clear evidence or official confirmation of where it landed.
Stafford had just put together a big passing night in the loss, throwing for 390 yards and two touchdowns, but he also turned it over twice. For Denver, the on-field result was the headline, yet the tunnel clip added a little extra edge to a game that was already going to be picked over from every angle. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Fans Have A New Reason To Debate That Late Flag
Pat Bryant turned a chaotic late sequence into one of the defining moments of the Broncos comeback win over the Rams, and he did it with a little gamesmanship that will keep fans talking. Bryant acknowledged that he exaggerated the contact on the play that drew the pass interference flag, wiping out a late Los Angeles interception and keeping Denvers drive alive long enough for Bo Nix to finish it with the winning touchdown.
For the Broncos, the larger takeaway is that Bryant was productive beyond that one controversial snap. He caught multiple passes and scored a touchdown, giving Denver another useful piece in a game that swung on a handful of high-leverage plays. Still, the late flag is the kind of moment that tends to linger, especially when it directly helped set up the comeback finish. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Just Found A Huge AFC West Opportunity
The early part of the AFC West has already handed Denver a chance to breathe a little easier. The Chargers are off to an 0-3 start, and the issues have shown up on both sides of the ball, with the offense sputtering and the defense unable to steady things. For a Broncos team trying to keep pace in a rugged division, that kind of stumble in Los Angeles matters.
Justin Herbert has drawn criticism for some of his decision-making, while Jim Harbaugh has been publicly supportive and demanding at the same time, trying to push more from his quarterback and the team around him. There have also been signs of friction inside the locker room, with Derwin James calling out the sloppiness. Denver does not need a rival collapse to be perfect, but this is the sort of early opening contenders watch closely. [Read more 🡒]
