The Rams walked into 2026 with the kind of offensive expectations that usually come with a team that already knows what it is. After finishing 2025 as the NFL’s highest-scoring group at 30.5 points per game, there was a clear assumption that Sean McVay’s offense would keep rolling. Instead, Week 1 brought a 27-7 loss on an international stage and a jarring reminder that talent alone does not keep an attack on track.
Matthew Stafford had one of the roughest outings of his career, and the performance raised the obvious question: was it jet lag, shaky preparation, or an offense that never found its rhythm? Whatever the cause, new offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase now has to help sort it out fast. With McVay mentoring him in the role, the pressure is already on to get the machine running the right way by Week 2.
The pieces are certainly there. General manager Les Snead gave this group a strong foundation with a heavy rushing attack, a dependable offensive line, a physical tight end room, and a receiver duo in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams that gives Stafford two 1000-yard threats to work with.
Stafford, meanwhile, is the defending MVP. On paper, this is a loaded unit.
But Week 1 showed how quickly a good roster can look ordinary when the plan is off.
The Rams never really leaned into the run game even when it was available, and they also failed to counter a 49ers defense that kept crowding the box. That left LA stuck in neutral while San Francisco dictated the terms. The Rams didn’t adjust, and the scoreboard told the story: they were held without points while the 49ers strung together 17 unanswered.
The mistakes went beyond just play selection. Turnovers quietly added 10 points for San Francisco, and one of the biggest swings came when the 49ers stopped the Rams on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. For a backfield built around smaller runners, trying to hammer it straight up the middle was never the cleanest answer.
That’s the heart of the issue heading into Week 2. The talent is not the problem.
The game plan was. Unless McVay, Scheelhaase and the rest of the staff make sharper decisions, the Rams could be looking at more of the same.
All eyes now shift to what they change - or fail to change - against the Giants.
In Other News...
Poona Ford Just Gave Rams Fans Real Hope Up Front
Poona Fords Rams debut in Week 1 did not give anyone much reason to believe the front would hold up the way the team needed, but his response in Week 2 looked a lot closer to the player Los Angeles was counting on. Working next to Aaron Donald, Ford helped steady the middle of the line and gave the Rams a sturdier answer against the run, something that has been a point of emphasis for a defense trying to establish itself early.
Against the Giants, the improvement showed up in the most direct way possible: New York was limited to 52 rushing yards on 21 carries. For a Rams defense that has leaned on disruptive interior play in the past, Fords ability to occupy space, hold his ground and make life harder between the tackles matters well beyond one afternoon, because the front now has a more believable path to consistency than it did seven days earlier. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Just Made A Move To Fix A Growing Special Teams Problem
The Rams made a small but telling roster move this week, signing safety Maximus Pulley off the Eagles practice squad as they try to steady a special teams unit that has become an issue. Pulley brings a background built around that phase of the game, and he already got a look on Philadelphias active roster earlier this season before landing in Los Angeles.
To make room, the Rams placed running back Ronnie Rivers on injured reserve, opening the door for a player who could be used mostly on coverage units and other special teams work. It is the kind of adjustment teams make when they want to clean up one part of the roster without overhauling everything, and it suggests the Rams are taking the problem seriously as they search for a more reliable answer. [Read more 🡒]
Davante Adams Sparked A Viral Debate Rams Fans Didnt See Coming
Davante Adams has been a familiar name around the Rams orbit since the wideouts endorsement work with Taco Bell turned into one of those oddly memorable football-adjacent marketing moments. The campaign even got a pop-up called Davantes House at SoFi Stadium, and Adams has talked about it in media appearances, helping fuel the kind of online chatter that can take on a life of its own around a star player.
The latest debate, though, came from fans running with the joke a little too far and treating the branding like it meant Adams literally had a Taco Bell in his home. He does not, of course, and the confusion has only added another layer to a story that already had Rams supporters paying attention, especially with Adams also drawing notice for his praise of Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie in a recent interview. [Read more 🡒]