Mike LaFleur’s first Sunday in Arizona gave Rams fans plenty to wince about.
The former Los Angeles offensive coordinator, who spent 2025 helping drive the Rams’ attack before taking the Cardinals’ head-coaching job, arrived in Arizona with expectations that he’d have a rough debut season. Los Angeles, meanwhile, made a point of showing confidence in new offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
One week in, that optimism and skepticism already look a little shaky.
The Rams opened with a flat 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, managing only one touchdown and little else through the air. Matthew Stafford finished 15 of 25 for 155 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, a line that left more questions than answers about where the offense goes from here.
Arizona, on the other hand, looked sharp in a 26-14 win over the Chargers. Jacoby Brissett delivered a clean, productive outing, going 27 of 37 for 277 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals’ offense looked far more polished than many expected.
LaFleur’s fingerprints showed up quickly. Like Sean McVay, he leans on tight ends, and Trey McBride was right in the middle of it all. McBride caught 9 of 13 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown in his first game in LaFleur’s system.
The Rams couldn’t match that kind of production at the position. Their tight ends combined for four catches and 31 yards.
That gap was hard to ignore when you look at the bigger picture, too. Los Angeles averaged 30.6 points per game in 2025, while Arizona averaged 20.5. But in Week 1, the Rams mustered just seven points, while the Cardinals hung 26 on the board.
That doesn’t mean LaFleur would have fixed everything in Los Angeles, or that Arizona is suddenly the better offense for the long haul. One game is one game. But when McVay and Scheelhaase couldn’t generate much of anything and LaFleur had his unit moving, the comparison lands hard.
There’s still a long way to go, and the Rams have time to steady themselves. Arizona could still run into the same old issues that have dogged it before. But for now, the Cardinals beat expectations, the Rams did not, and Los Angeles is left as the only winless team in the NFC West.
The season is only one game old, with 16 to go. Still, the road back just got steeper, and LaFleur is no longer in the building to help figure out how to score.
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For the Rams, the more immediate concern is what happens when a rough opener starts inviting bigger questions. Los Angeles drew scrutiny after a poor Week 1 performance, and the chatter around Myles Garrett has only added to the unease, with some league observers wondering about his fit and his readiness after he acknowledged he did not feel like his usual self in Australia. The Rams do not need the side issues becoming the story, but that is the pressure that comes with an early stumble. [Read more 🡒]