The NFC West had no shortage of frustration this week, with the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks all dealing with different kinds of pressure points.
In San Francisco, general manager John Lynch addressed the trade market and made it clear the 49ers are doing the usual deadline work behind the scenes. When asked whether he’s speaking with teams about a deal, Lynch said: “Just because the flow of the trade deadline is approaching, yes.
That’s our job to do that, to talk with our counterparts around the league. We receive calls, we make calls, just to see where the market is at.”
The 49ers also got a timeline update on wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Robinson won’t be back until after the bye week.
In Los Angeles, Sean McVay was still fuming after the Rams’ overtime loss to the Bills. Special teams took the brunt of the blame, and McVay didn’t hide how much it bothered him given how long that phase has been an issue for the team and how much they worked on it this offseason.
“In the kicking game, especially with our PAT and field goal, not even close to good enough,” McVay said via the Associated Press. “It cost us the game tonight…”
He also took responsibility for one late decision that stuck with him.
“I’m sick that we came up short, and I’ll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth or whatever it was. And that’s on me.”
Up in Seattle, Sam Darnold’s night ended with two touchdown passes in a sloppy loss to the Broncos on Thursday. But the Seahawks quarterback put the spotlight on his own mistakes, saying he has to do a better job of protecting the football while the defense and special teams keep delivering.
“When you have a defense and special teams group that’s playing the way they are for us, for me, I’ve just got to protect the football,” Darnold said, via Pro Football Talk. “Dropping back and taking what they give me, I feel like I did a pretty good job of that in the first half, and then late in the second half, those two plays, you can’t have it.”
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 🡒]