The Rams’ 1-1 start has already taken them from the blunt shock of Melbourne to the bounce-back buzz of Monday night, and now the next checkpoint comes in a far less forgiving place: Sunday night at Empower Field at Mile High against the Broncos.
Los Angeles opened 2026 with Super Bowl expectations and then got punched in the mouth by the San Francisco 49ers, 27-7, at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns in front of 100,021 fans, while Matthew Stafford went 15-of-25 for 155 yards.
The Rams arrived in Australia about a day before kickoff; the 49ers had been there for a week. That game is in the rearview now, and the conversation has shifted to whether that was a travel problem or something more.
Monday night answered part of that. Stafford looked nothing like the quarterback from Week 1, finishing 22 of 31 for 327 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-6 win over the Giants.
Davante Adams was the headliner, hauling in eight catches for 195 yards and two scores while Puka Nacua sat out with a hip and groin injury. Terrance Ferguson added six receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown, and Kyren Williams and Blake Corum handled the ground work with 85 and 79 rushing yards, respectively.
Los Angeles rolled up 481 total yards. New York managed only 182 and 11 first downs.
The Giants’ night turned ugly almost immediately when Jaxson Dart exited on the opening drive after taking a shot from two Rams defenders. John Harbaugh said Wednesday that Dart will have left-knee surgery and miss the rest of the regular season, with a possible playoff return left open.
Imaging showed MCL, PCL, and meniscus damage; the ACL is intact. Jameis Winston finished the game.
That injury is confirmed by multiple outlets, including The Athletic and CBS Sports.
Adams’ eruption was enough to change the tone around the offense. “He’s wide receiver one to me.
He ain’t a two,” McVay said after the game, a line carried by NFL.com. It was Adams’ best day as a Ram, and Stafford also moved past Philip Rivers into sixth on the career touchdown-pass list.
There was another notable development Monday night: Aaron Donald played his first NFL snaps since January 2024. In a limited role, he logged 33 snaps and three tackles.
The Rams still have just two sacks through two weeks, so the pass rush is going to have to keep coming from Donald, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, and the rest of the front while Myles Garrett remains out. Garrett had arthroscopic knee surgery after Week 1 and is on injured reserve for at least four games, a timeline first detailed by CBS Sports.
The Rams’ biggest personnel question heading into Denver is Nacua. He did not practice Wednesday.
McVay has said he is hopeful the receiver can work later in the week and that the injury is not a long-term concern, but he has not committed to Sunday. Sporting News and Rams beat reports put the status as unresolved after the walk-through.
Adams already showed the offense can function without him, but Denver’s Pat Surtain II presents a much different challenge than the Giants’ battered secondary.
The Broncos come in at 1-1 after losing 31-10 in Kansas City in Week 1 and then beating Jacksonville 20-13. Bo Nix has completed 39 of 59 passes for 419 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Against the Jaguars, he went 22-of-31 for 288 yards. Jaylen Waddle caught eight passes for 138 yards in that home debut after a quiet opener, according to ESPN’s game log.
Denver wants a national-stage statement. Los Angeles wants to show the Melbourne loss was about timing and travel, not a ceiling. The Rams are a slight road favorite around 2.5 points in most books, but altitude and a short week after Monday night work against them.
Quentin Lake has been active all over the field with 17 tackles, six passes defensed, one interception, and one forced fumble. Nate Landman has 15 tackles. Former Chiefs corners Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson give Los Angeles a different look on the back end than the group that got lit up in Australia, and that secondary will be tested if Nix takes his shots deep.
The Rams’ next three games, with Denver followed by Philadelphia and Buffalo in the source material’s framing, will say plenty about whether the Super Bowl hype survives a 1-1 start. One road loss in Week 1 doesn’t define a season. Another flat night at altitude would make the questions a lot louder.
What’s known is simple: Stafford just posted a 131.3 rating without Nacua, Donald is back, Garrett is not, and Denver gets the thin air and the home crowd on Sunday night.
In Other News...
Rams Just Made Puka Nacuas Price Tag Much Harder To Ignore
Puka Nacuas future is quickly becoming one of the more important decisions on the Rams calendar. He is in the final year of his rookie deal, and Sean McVay has made it clear there is no set timeline for an extension, even as the wideouts impact on the offense has become impossible to miss. Nacua has already shown how central he can be to what the Rams want to do, but his injury history is part of the calculation, along with the reality that the team has had to navigate stretches without him.
The price tag is the part that gets trickier from here. Los Angeles has to weigh the value of locking in a player who has already changed the shape of the offense against the kind of financial commitment that comes with a receiver of his importance. The Rams also have to consider their alternatives if they decide not to move quickly, which is why this is shaping up as more than just a routine contract discussion. [Read more 🡒]
Poona Ford Just Gave Rams Fans Real Hope Up Front
Poona Fords first impression in a Rams uniform was a little underwhelming, but his second outing looked a lot more like the kind of interior help this defense was hoping to get. In Week 2, he was part of a front that kept the New York Giants from finding much room on the ground, and the difference was obvious in how sturdier the middle of the line looked with Aaron Donald working alongside him.
Fords value has always been tied to the dirty work inside, and that showed up more clearly against New York. The Rams did not need a splashy box score from him so much as consistent resistance at the point of attack, and this game offered a better glimpse of how he can fit into the run defense. After one shaky start, there is at least real reason to think the up-front pairing can give Los Angeles something to build on. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Just Made A Move To Fix A Growing Special Teams Problem
The Rams made a roster adjustment this week aimed squarely at a part of the team that has started to need attention. Los Angeles signed safety Maximus Pulley off the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad and, in a corresponding move, placed running back Ronnie Rivers on injured reserve. Pulley, a Western Kentucky and Wofford College product, already brings special teams experience with him, and the Eagles had activated him to their active roster for Week 2 before he came to Los Angeles.
For the Rams, the appeal is straightforward: a chance to add help in a phase of the game where they have been looking for cleaner execution. Pulley is expected to be used mostly on special teams, giving the coaching staff another option as it tries to steady a unit that has become a growing concern. [Read more 🡒]