Before the Rams had even played a game this season, most thought they had this team figured out. After a dreadful 5-12, injury-plagued 2022 campaign and a roster overhaul that saw veterans – some future Hall of Famers – replaced by rookies and second-year players, the assumption was this would be a rebuilding year, even if health held up.
Oddsmakers pegged the team’s over/under win total at 6.5 on the eve of training camp, a number that made head coach Sean McVay hold his tongue at the time.
“We got a young team, you never know what you’re going to get with that. Some guys that we had last year that weren’t in this building [for this season],” tight end Tyler Higbee said. “Every year, it’s on paper and then you got to go out there and do it.”
Twelve weeks into the season, the Rams have reminded everyone of the old cliche: That’s why you play the games. Following Sunday’s 37-14 dismantling of the Arizona Cardinals, the Rams are 5-6 overall, matching last year’s win total. They are 4-1 against NFC West opponents.
Most importantly, they are one game out of the NFC’s final playoff spot, behind the Minnesota Vikings, who are without starting quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season, and the Seattle Seahawks, whom the Rams own the tiebreaker over.
And with the way the schedule is breaking, it seems more and more plausible the Rams can make a late playoff push.
Next up is the Cleveland Browns at home, a game that seemed daunting a couple of weeks ago. But the Browns might be down to their third-string QB next week after former UCLA star Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a concussion on Sunday. And star defensive lineman Myles Garrett (shoulder) and receiver Amari Cooper (ribs) came out of the weekend banged up.
Following a road trip to the AFC’s first-place Baltimore Ravens, the Rams face a Washington team that kneecapped its own defense at the trade deadline, a New Orleans team with no offensive identity, a New York Giants team in total disarray, and a San Francisco team that might be positioned to rest key starters in Week 18 with its own playoff fate determined.
“I’m not naïve to the fact that they’re going to see these types of things,” McVay said Sunday. “But the truth is that the only way that you continue to stay in the hunt, or put yourself in a position to be able to get in, is by handling your business one week at a time.”
As Higbee himself said, that’s all on paper for now. Where the Rams can take the most encouragement entering the stretch run is the way the team is coming together.
The offense looked like a completely different unit on Sunday with the return of running back Kyren Williams from injured reserve. The balance the Rams had been looking for was suddenly there. And even without receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua having big games, Higbee and Tutu Atwell kept the team moving through the air.
And the defense, the unit most besmirched prior to the season, has been the most reliable phase of the game for the Rams. Linebacker Ernest Jones and safety Jordan Fuller have taken the next steps in their games, while the likes of Cobie Durant, Kobie Turner and Byron Young have established themselves in their first extensive NFL opportunities.
“To see where they came from camp to where we at now and the production they’re putting on film, it’s a lot to be excited about,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. “If they keep playing how they’re playing, we can win a lot of games.”
But the Rams don’t want to get too far ahead of themselves. From McVay to Kupp to quarterback Matthew Stafford to Higbee, the members of the organization who have been through a playoff push before want the focus to be on the game, the week, the practice at hand.
“Learn how to win daily. You’re going to win your Sunday games, it starts with the Wednesday preparation, if not before that,” Higbee said. “That’s how you learn how to win; coming in every day, not let up and just keep going.”
BRIEFLY
Cornerback Duke Shelley was placed on injured reserve on Monday after suffering a hamstring injury in Arizona. Safety Quentin Lake (hamstring) is not expected to return to game action this week after missing the game against Arizona, but McVay did not close the door entirely on that possibility.