The Rams get a small break at exactly the right time.
With Los Angeles sitting at 26th in the NFL against the run in 2026, allowing 128.4 rushing yards per game, the last thing this defense needed was another rookie back trying to make a name for himself. But Arizona Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love has been ruled out with an inkle injury, giving the Rams a much-needed reprieve in Week 6.
That matters because the Cardinals’ ground game has already been underwhelming. Love has averaged only 49 yards per game, and Arizona as a team is sitting at 91.6 rushing yards per contest. Even with Love unavailable, the Rams can’t assume anything will come easy against a division opponent trying to find its footing on the ground.
The strange part is that Los Angeles has been much better at stopping the pass than anyone expected. After last season’s mess in the secondary, the Rams have flipped the script in 2026.
Through five games, they’ve allowed only 156.8 passing yards per game, a sharp drop from the 216.7 they gave up last year. They’ve done that while producing only eight sacks, which makes the pass defense’s production even more notable.
The tradeoff has been obvious. The same group that allowed just 110.8 rushing yards per game a season ago, along with only eight rushing touchdowns, has already given up four rushing scores in five games this year. The run defense has become the weak link.
That kind of swing isn’t new for this team. In 2024, the Rams’ run defense was shredded by Saquon Barkley.
Last year, the secondary was the unit that let them down, failing to contain Seahawks receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba. This season, it’s the ground game that looks like the bigger problem again.
So while no one is celebrating an injury, Love’s absence does give Chris Shula’s defense a better shot at holding the line. For a Rams team still trying to sort out its identity on defense, that’s at least one welcome development. Nothing has felt guaranteed for this group in 2026, and that still holds true this week.
In Other News...
Rams Face A Familiar Threat To Stafford And The Offense
The Rams next trip into the NFC West brings more than a divisional opponent. When they line up against the Cardinals, Sean McVay will be facing Mike LaFleur for the first time as a head coach on the other sideline, a familiar face from McVays own staff and part of a coaching tree that has shaped plenty of recent Rams football. The connection runs deeper than just one meeting, with McVay, LaFleur and Matt LaFleur all tied together through years of shared ideas and overlapping success, while Matthew Stafford has also had a front-row seat to how that family of coaches works.
For the Rams, the matchup is another reminder that the league keeps circling back to relationships as much as schemes. McVay has spoken highly of Mike LaFleurs impact, and Stafford has too, which makes this one feel a little different than a standard division game. Theres still the usual stake of a divisional test, but theres also the added layer of two coaches who know each other well and an offense trying to stay ahead of a defense that has seen plenty of the same concepts from the same coaching line. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Special Teams Problem Has Become Impossible To Ignore
The Rams have spent enough time trying to patch the issue that it is no longer possible to call it a one-week hiccup. Their special teams have been a problem all season, and the numbers have reflected it in ugly fashion, with the unit sitting last in several key categories. Los Angeles has already started to address it by moving on from kicker Harrison Mevis and bringing in cornerback Damarion Williams to help the coverage units, but the fixes so far have only underscored how deep the concern runs.
Bubba Ventrone now has a unit under the microscope, and the pressure is not just on the players trying to make tackles and flip field position. Les Snead has shown a willingness to keep adjusting the roster when something is not working, and special teams may be headed for more of that scrutiny if the Rams do not clean things up soon. For a team trying to stay sharp everywhere else, this phase of the game has become the one area it can least afford to keep ignoring. [Read more 🡒]
Rashod Bateman Trade Buzz Could Put Ravens In A Tough Spot
With the Rams sitting at 2-3, the search for offensive help is already starting to take on some urgency, and Baltimore wide receiver Rashod Bateman has surfaced as a name to watch. Bleacher Reports Gary Davenport pegged Los Angeles as a possible landing spot, pointing to the teams need for more receiver depth and Batemans track record as reasons the fit could make sense.
Bateman has shown enough this season to keep his name in the conversation, with one touchdown, 16 catches and 233 receiving yards in five games. For the Rams, any move of this sort would be about adding another reliable target and reshaping the passing game around the stretch run, while the possibility of a deal could leave Baltimore weighing whether it can afford to part with a receiver who still has plenty of value in the market. [Read more 🡒]