Family ties are part of the backdrop when the Denver Broncos host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, but the real draw is the football and the coaching matchup that comes with it.
Denver’s ownership connection to Los Angeles is already enough to give this one some extra texture. Columnist Troy Renck of the Denver Post dubbed it the Walmar Bowl II in Denver, a nod to the Walton-Penner Broncos and the Rams’ link through brother-in-law Stan Kroenke. The last time those ownership circles crossed on the field, the Rams beat Denver in what Renck described as a Christmas Day beatdown in 2022, when LA “punched the Broncos in the nose.”
The coaches add another layer. Sean Payton and Sean McVay are friends, but McVay has gotten the better of Payton so far, holding a 3-1 edge in their head-to-head meetings. That history hangs over this one even if the friendship does too.
Both sides bring their own trends into the matchup. Payton arrives with a nine-game winning streak against NFC opponents, while McVay is 8-1 in road openers, though Renck pointed out that the Rams were technically the home team when they traveled to Australia in Week 1.
Renck also framed this as a game full of decisions and counters, the kind Payton loves to dissect on film by asking whether a problem is about play or players. That question matters here because the injuries already shape the picture.
The Rams are likely to be without star receiver Puka Nacua. Denver, meanwhile, is dealing with two banged-up running backs, and rookie Jonah Coleman has been placed on IR for at least four games. That could affect the Broncos’ stated desire to lean on the run, and it gives McVay and the Rams another problem to solve from the other sideline.
Quarterback play is another obvious pivot point. Matthew Stafford carved up the New York Giants for 327 yards and four touchdown passes on 22-for-31 passing, while Bo Nix is coming off a much slower start before finally waking up in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 20-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There’s also the tight end element. McVay likes to feature that part of the offense, and the Broncos had trouble defending tight ends in the middle of last season, which sets up another area for both staffs to attack and adjust.
And then there’s the ground game. Denver was run over by Kenneth Walker III in its Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Rams averaged more than six yards per carry against the Giants last week. Put it all together and the matchup carries plenty of tactical weight, especially with Denver facing a brutal early schedule and needing every bit of value it can get from one of its more compelling games.
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