Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Going to Take Over the World and Kill All of Humanity
Source: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Going to Take Over the World and Kill All of Humanity
It’s Official: A Nor’easter, a State of Emergency, and New Jersey’s Toughest Weekend of the Fall
Source: It’s Official: A Nor’easter, a State of Emergency, and New Jersey’s Toughest Weekend of the Fall
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The Rams cruised past the Giants 28-6, with Matthew Stafford and a returning Aaron Donald leading the charge.
WEEK 2 RECAP
The Rams cruised past the Giants 28-6, with Matthew Stafford and a returning Aaron Donald leading the charge.
I knew something was off in that game in Australia and I mean on Defense.
First off, it was so great seeing Aaron Donald on the field last night. Right away seeing him before the game, I knew it would matter and I realized that he will help this team. And, it did. The Defense did real well last night. I think it was all Chris Shula. Or, they reset to an entirely new set up last night and it was done right away.
Remember when I asked last week, “did we even blitz”?
It was unnoticeable because in the opening game, we had a four-man pass rush with heavy zone coverage that just slowed things down I am thinking. It’s not the large stadium like I blamed it on, but yesterday, Shula had a few different set ups in the first quarter alone. We did five-man rushes many times, which is when I realized the above mentioned — we never did any of that last week.
Shula had Wesley Bailey and Josaiah Stewart rotating in and out of the so-called Edge position. Bailey especially was disruptive a lot last night. He also did well in the pocket where he also had a sack. That is also where Myles Garrett would play, however, that was then coupled with a lot of man-to-man coverage. Many people in the back had great plays. Trent McDuffie had an interception in our own end zone. Quentin Lake made some great plays on his own. He helped stop a 3rd and 2 and had at least two tackles early. There were also a few more one-on-ones that were broken up or they helped cause some incomplete passes.
The Defense also had a close chance at a safety. They were flying everywhere and converging on the quarterback all night. It was a great swarming defense, and then when I noticed that Myles Garrett was talking to Aaron Donald’s wife, I saw how that guy is just massive. When he comes back, this defense should be something else.
INJURY WATCH
Garrett was also not using crutches at the game, and his surgery was done last week.
Regardless, they played very well last night. Overall, I think it was Chris Shula shaking things up at first, at least, let alone setting up a way different game plan on Defense. Then, after the injury which we will get to next, the Giants could never rebound versus how this Defense was playing, and ironically — or not so ironic — they played even better as the game went on. I was very confident throughout most of the game.
The commentators, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, also made a comment about this plan being drastically different from that game in Australia.
Overall, everyone, including the staff, wanted to put that one behind us, and the team did that last night.
The Rams’ pass rush was getting through to Jameis Winston all game. Obviously, the Jaxson Dart going down was a blow to the Giants. The Giants needed to figure out a way to run the ball last night. I know they were down most of the game, but they had zero control on offense. They were being swarmed by the Rams’ pass rush, and when was the last time I used that term? It was when the Rams won that Super Bowl. They won because that defensive line, with Aaron Donald, just devoured that front line and eventually got to the quarterback a lot. Last night the Giants could not get anything going because of it.
Without Jaxson Dart, the Giants could only try to keep the ball away from the Rams, which they did a few times. They did prolong drives and they did get the ball off way late a few times, but it was short lived. The Rams had to punt the ball three times and our kicker missed a 43-yard field goal. Plus, the Rams allowed an illegal procedure penalty to move the ball back five yards in order to punt the ball rather than try to kick a 53-yard field goal.
JAXSON DART UPDATE
Laura Rutledge reported that Dart spent some time in the medical tent and walked to the locker room on his own, which we actually saw happen on TV. Rutledge also reported how Dart wanted to get back into the game after he went to the locker room. At first he did not go to the X-ray room, but he ended up getting X-rays. The team reportedly was looking at it as a sprained MCL.
The defensive pass interference penalty on the Rams’ Josh Wallace was a joke, and on the very next play, the referees called a rather lame holding penalty to even that one out.
By the way, I would have to think that even today in 2026, Winston is one of the NFL’s better backup QBs, though again, the Rams did have him under control all night. I also thought Winston was a better runner.
Setting aside the two turnovers and that missed field goal, the Rams ended up rolling over the Giants to win, 28-6. And, considering the loss game one and if you then consider last night, the one bright spot from game one was ruled out because of the Puka Nacua hip injury.
Davante Adams had eight catches last night for 195 yards and two touchdowns — his best game as a Ram.
— On Adams’ breakout nightDavante Adams had eight catches last night for 195 yards and two touchdowns. That was his best game as a Ram and it showed right away how great he is as a receiver. He made a few sick catches. Add to that, Matthew Stafford was efficient all night long. He was 22 of 31 last night with 327 yards and 4 touchdowns. He did have one interception and ended up with a 131.3 rating last night. Adams averaged about 10-plus yards a catch last night. The tight ends had many catches last night. I think there was only one miss by Terrance Ferguson last night, who also had a big night with 6 catches and 54 yards. He also had a touchdown, and then Colby Parkinson had 2 catches for 15 yards. Davis Allen even made a catch late in the game.
Jameis Winston ended up with 111 yards on 11 of 27 passing. Dart was 3 for 5 with 20 yards before he left the game.
The Giants also had another injury with wide receiver Malik Nabers. I thought he may have dislocated his shoulder, and then the player that I had an eye on pregame was the rookie edge rusher Arvell Reese, whom I wanted the Rams to entertain getting in the draft. He only left in the first half for an evaluation on the sideline but honestly, I did not hear his name one time all night. Both returned to the game. I was surprised that Nabers was not injured. I could not figure out what happened to him. The trainer was rubbing ointment on his upper arm and shoulder so it was a muscle thing or maybe even a Charley horse, but at first I thought maybe shoulder dislocation.
I did feel bad about what happened with Jaxson Dart. I think the Giants are not only better because of Jaxson Dart, they were also in deep trouble all game without Jaxson Dart in the game, and it was noticeable. At the same time, and like I alluded to above, the Rams Defense did get better as the game went on, and with or without Dart, that will need to be determined another time — whether a Jaxson Dart can beat a team on this level. Them beating the Cowboys week one was very impressive. Dart did move the ball the one set of downs he was in the game, and also, the hit was basically legit.
As a matter of fact, I think Byron Young was actually pushed into Dart by the blocker, causing the buckle of the knee that went the other way. Or, actually, I thought he maybe slammed his knee, stinging it. Remember, when you bruise a knee, you don’t feel the pain for a split second and then after it happens, you just need to let it go because it hurts bad for some time. Making sure there was no break makes sense, which meant they had to do the X-ray. Now, being a product of watching football games in the ’70s and ’80s, would I have allowed him back as a coach? I do not think that I would have in game 2, and since they are 1-0 going into the game, it’s not the end of the world that they lose to a Rams team in game 2. I therefore would not take the chance of him hitting in that area because if it did get hit again, he would get injured for real. However, and again, when he left the game with that knee injury, the offense went nowhere for the rest of the game.
Jameis Winston completed 40.1%. The run game was held to 52 yards and Malik Nabers caught one pass for one yard.
Overall, I think that Aaron Donald played very well last night, and if not for nuttin’, his play helped other players play real well. That’s not even me thinking for a second that this is his first game since 2024. If you think about that fact, he played great last night. Overall, he did very well last night. He also looked like he was where he should be, which is playing for the Rams, and he also looked like he is having fun. Just think if he did not leave the last two years. Regardless, Donald did have three tackles with one for a loss. It also held the Giants in the red zone when the Rams were up by just 2 points.
Then, Davante Adams had his best game as a Ram, which also by the way, I am not that versed on Adams’ career before he became a Ram. He not only stepped up big time last night, he also made some great catches. He was just on fire last night. I love that guy. He is excellent, and being without Puka on the field, or without Puka to help with losing people in coverage, this was an excellent game for Davante Adams in so many ways. Remember, the main target at times was not even on the field. You would have thought an extra eye would be on him all night, which I am sure there was — even still, his second possession was the first of his two touchdowns. That bomb downfield was unreal. The 195 yards total that he had last night was the fourth-best in a single game in the NFL.
I think we need to rethink how we deal with preseason. All of these injuries would have happened in the preseason. Regardless, the Rams are now 1-1 going into Denver next week. I like how we match up against the Broncos. I was nervous about our schedule with regard to playing Denver next, but after playing the Giants, if we stay the course, what we did last night will work against the Broncos. We will be able to get to Bo Nix if we come to play.
Get Adams and Nacua together on offense, get Donald and Garrett together on defense — and this team runs on all four cylinders.
FULL BREAKDOWN
Read this on the Los Angeles Rams Substack
I feel like everything that we spoke about for a half year now is all for not because I am not sugar coating the situation here, we looked awful on pretty much every level besides maybe the sign of brilliance we saw with Puka Nacua. At the same time, it got so bad that Matt Stafford was throwing passes into players all day and as close as possible for whomever to make the catch. Eventually, he did get an opened Tight End which again, took a while. The Rams coaches are trying to set aside the effects of the jet lag with their travel plan, but man, stop trying to reinvent the wheel. It is as if the entire world was looking to see how Coach McVay was going to plan what is a plane ride to Australia. I also think everyone over thunk things way too much because again, its a plane ride and what was a chartered airplane with beds and plenty of room to rest. Besides, you are making multi milliones of dollars playing one of the best jobs ever invented by the jobs gods to help to figure it out. Figure it out. To me, it does not make any sense to fly 15 hours as close to game day as possible with the hope of rebounding day two to be able to play a 60 minute game versus another professional team. Logic would tell me that you need a full day to rebound.
RELATED COVERAGE Rams, 49ers make history with NFL’s 1st regular-season game in Australia — Orange County RegisterMcVay makes no bones about how arriving in Melbourne 24 hours before the game was the correct way to deal. However, the Rams were not able to catch up to how the Niners played. The Niners hit harder. They played harder. They were quicker. They had 4 on 1’s it seemed like much of the game. They had some new moves around the line by putting people in oddly looped motion before many snaps and many run plays. It actually looked like they did it in the 60’s and maybe in college. I am not sure if I ever saw being in motion using those loops instead of running along the line. I honestly did not even know you could go in motion any other way besides straight and parallel to the line. Or, I knew that rule changed but again, I still thought it was about staying in line and not running an almost full egg motion. They just could not even come close to coming back after that slow start and jet lag, losing 27-7. The Defense looked weak for the most part again, allowing easy catches with the WR’s 5 to 7 yards away from any Defensive Back. I am not even getting into the 49’ers constant 3 to 7 yard passes which by the way coaching staff, they are the ones that made that up way back in the 80’s and 90’s with Joe Montana doing those 5 yard pass plays that get 15 to 20 yards a play. The Defense did almost sack Brock Purdy 8 to 15 times but could never nail it home.
Myles Garrett was noticebly breathing rather hard early in the game. “This is a humbling day for us,” said McVay. “Sometimes sports can humble you, and today was one of those days. I make no excuses. Whether you want to say it was about the travel, we just weren’t good enough in that window.” Matthew Stafford and the offense could not do much in the first half. He was 4-for-11 with only 65 yards in the first two quarters, and the offense was just 1-for-5 on third downs. Without that 41-yard completion to wide receiver Puka Nacua that set up a Kyren Williams touchdown, the Rams were held scoreless and again, that was Puka catching and running after a rather badly thrown pass that was up for grabs. So, when your strategy is to merely throw the balls near wide recievers with the hope or knowledge how the Wide Receiver would have to make the miraculous catches is not a great strategy.
The Rams new edge rusher Myles Garrett did not have one stat in the game, however, he did get held a lot all game and he did get close a few times. The defense got close many times which again, brings me back to not being tarined to play and entire game. It was the first time since 2018 that he was held without any stats. Garrett said after the game that he didn’t feel 100 percent and felt pain throughout the game which I did not even know was an issue. This also would have beena good time to have Aaron Donald play because even with that issue, what are we doing with it? Is he on the team or is he not? Is he practicing or not? Is he doing well or not? is he coming to Australia or is he not?
“This was the worst version of myself. I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I’ve shown before.”
— Myles Garrett, after game oneWhat is going on with this team right now? No one seems to know anything but that we may have flown to Australia wrong considering the time zone differences. I ask, as opposed to what? Are you not supposed to play really well or again, what are we doing when the top defender in the league realizes after game one that he must get back to where he was last season. That is when you realize that is where we need to be in order to win games? Now, you realize it? After game 1? That makes zero point zero sense.
When Quentin Lake intercepted Brock Purdy in the first half, Stafford threw an interception on the next drive. Purdy then hit Demarcus Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown with cornerback Trent McDuffie 3 to 5 yards behind him which again, is where we left off after that last game against the Seahawks. The Rams’ newest players that are supposed to elevate the Rams Defense instantly did not come to play at this first game of the season.
The Rams were so out of whack without any plan to control the offense. It was like that the entire game, there was no flow and again, Stafford threw the ball up for grabs all game. The run game would get flowing and then Coach McVay overdoes the run part of the game calling for one or two run plays too much and in a row. Both McVay and Stafford stated after the game that there was a lack of ‘communication’ on offense. “We just didn’t do things that we’re accustomed to doing,” said Stafford. “That’s just communication and operating. Too many times we’re on different pages.” Then, by that standard, getting starters to play in preseason games may need to come back because if that was the case, those are the things you accomplish during the preseason.
HALFTIME Jonas Brothers’ Melbourne Halftime Show Set List — New Song “Listen When Sad” Makes Live TV Debut, Plus a John Farnham CoverFollowing the Jonas Brothers’ halftime set, Brock Purdy scored again right away when the other newcomer and part of the savior of the defense, Jaylen Watson, was beat again by Mike Evans, who had a major day catching passes but this time for another quick touchdown. Mike Evans had to have had his best game ever last night although he did not play at all last season. This was his first game back and it was a big day for him and the Niners.
The Rams then moved down field to the one-yard line and what does McVay choose to do? The very thing that failed every time both times Stafford gets stopped at the goal line. He was 0-2 with goal line runs last year and so I have to ask, out of all run plays the Rams use every game, that is the call? To run someone that was 0-2 last year as what? A surprise? You have two of the top runners in the league along with a supposedly great offensive line to go 36 inches and the choice is to make it so hard for ourselves by trying the very play that fails 100% of the time. We chose to do the very play that we have not executed in two seasons. We have four running backs that could all start on any team in the NFL — or if not start, they can play way more on other teams is how great they all are — and again, we ask the most awkwardly running guy to try to barrel through a pile of people that weigh above 200lbs each. Why make it that hard on ourselves is just beyond me.
I think that we should have gone for the touchdown, do not get me wrong, and with transparency, I did not even put together until right now how we would have been behind by only one score if we did opt for the field goal attempt. I am just saying that out of every run play in that playbook, this should have been the very last choice to try a Stafford sneak on the half yard line. Out of every running tool, including two of the top runners in the league, we chose something we have not executed in a real game in over two seasons. As a new rule since I must overstate the obvious yet again, it is never good if Stafford is chosen to or has to run the ball. That generally means we are in trouble behind the line and honestly, that is all that it means, so again, why was that the call? That also made zero point zero sense to me.
Then, you sit there daydreaming about how this Defense that should be ready to not only step up to create some type of big play considering the short field, they should have also found some way to swarm the quarterback in the end zone for a safety or to cause an interception for a touchdown. Instead, they go nowhere on one play and then boom, the next play is one of those 4-yard pass plays that goes for 15 yards and the next thing I know, this brand-spanking-new Defense is allowing the 49ers to go 99 yards in 11 plays for another touchdown.
Brock Purdy got touched, or what they call a “hit,” today, one time. That’s hard to do let alone by the one defense most anticipated to see in years. I feel like I could be pushed into Purdy myself one time or better yet, I bet I could fall down, crawl to his feet and touch his cleat one time if I played in that game. I feel like I could do that one time in 60 minutes. Moving on, Stafford had nine completions until about there being 13 minutes left in the game. He was 3-for-10 on pass plays more than 10 yards. That’s also hard to do let alone by the NFL’s Most Valuable Player last year.
They only created six pressures, and no one had more than two chances on Defense, which I will reiterate, there was a span of time when that defense almost converged many times, or at least a few times. Did we blitz? I don’t even remember which, I know we had to have at some time, but man, it was hard to watch at times.
Plus, that stadium is huge; for some reason, I see mistakes, the play seemed slower to me or something surreal, and I also hate that gap between the players and the field, and the stands. I am becoming on the fence about these travel-to games across the globe. I know there are talks about a Mexico City team or franchise, it is just too much. Even trying to follow along to figure out where games are being aired on TV and I don’t know, it is getting a bit much if you consider it is game one.
It did feel like a Super Bowl. That would be a cool idea to have Super Bowl games around the world. Then, you can get there for two weeks and chill a bit. Regardless, what else?
The special teams that we added this year was underwhelming last night. Our Special Teams has been underwhelming now for years. Ever since the John Fassell era, which is when and why I realized that I took that for granted for many years. He was our fixture in that coaching spot for a long time. Xavier Smith is fine but again, that is all we have had for years now — fine. Deebo Samuel Jr., or whatever his name is, had a big play actually last night on Special Teams. Remember we could have gotten him? I don’t know where he could fit it considering he had a mega great game last night.
Or, it could also be Kyle Shanahan. I say that a lot in our games because quite frankly, he outcoaches McVay a lot. Last night, McVay was not calling plays well at all. That one-yard goal line debacle was just the most glaring one. I think everyone tried to do too much instead of playing within the game and as a great team. Stafford tried to do way too much. Garrett tried to do way too much too fast and he was winded in the 2nd quarter. Stafford tried to needle the ball through a pinhole and having to somehow loft the ball in between players virtually on every pass play. Even the big play that led to the Rams touchdown was all Puka. Puka has this odd way of almost cupping the ball with two hands, almost like tucking it in under his chest so he can run another 15 yards, which he somehow still does. He is excellent.
I am not sure what else but I shut down way early yesterday and so I am going to salvage this week at work. Right now though, the one thing I kept trying to talk myself into and then I had to remind myself that because no one has played in games yet, it will take a quarter to get the blood moving so to speak. I thought everything was in like slow motion until the 2nd Quarter.
Anyway, this is the only game we have been able to watch which ironically, in preseason games two and one, I was very impressed with our 3rd stringers and 4th stringers and so unless the other teams had worse backups, I thought those guys played great football. Evidently, there will be no sightseeing for the team, and for anyone that went over to Australia, we now have until the next Monday Night Football game a week from this Monday. We have plenty of time to wake up and then I get to cover the game daily starting next week versus the New York Giants.
UP NEXT New York Giants vs. Los Angeles RamsAnd very last, it is implied that we all know that 17 teams have lost game one of the season going onto winning a Super Bowl. It is time for the Rams to course correct and yeah, wake up. Play the game. Get rid of any distraction. Play the game. Stop overthinking and play as a team. Play the game. If you are some of the best players in the NFL, the team should win games.
The Seahawks lost to the 49ers in game one — and went on to win it all this year.
FULL BREAKDOWN
Read this on the Los Angeles Rams Substack
So, when were we great? When were we last the leading nation in a progressive sort of way?
I was trying to gauge how long it takes to get there. It’s a 15 to 20 hour flight from basically both LAX and SFO, and flying from New York or New Jersey tacks on another 5 hours. Flying from the West Coast takes around 17 hours according to my calculation over Sunday breakfast with my dad. He stated that tourists probably stay there a couple weeks or more to make the trip worthwhile. That’s how the San Francisco 49ers are planning for Week 1, because they are there practicing today.
The Rams have a totally different plan. They fly to Melbourne the day before kickoff, get set for the game on Thursday, and then take another flight back home on Friday. Granted, one does feel energized when traveling through time zones, and so they’ll have no real time to get used to any climate issues or adjust to that time zone.
LA is preparing for the game in Los Angeles while the Niners are at the field in Australia practicing there all week. The Rams in general have always had many travel miles every year. Everyone that has to come to LA can deal in one-off’s, while the Rams have to travel to Central USA and also handle our constant travel for games on the East Coast, which can be grueling at times. Now we face travel time that is longer than a half day but in the opposite part of the world.
An Australian game with two different strategies. I must admit that I am a bit weird about it, considering there is no time for error and delay. I am also on the fence whether Aaron Donald will get any play time. I can bet the house that he wants to play and he wants to play sooner than later. I am very curious to see what he’s got this season. Donald is not only traveling with the team, coach Sean McVay did not provide any updates during Sunday’s media hour. I have not even seen him play at all this year. I did not see any practice sessions with him at play. I have not seen him play since that day the team won the Super Bowl. Although, we did get to see a totally drunk while being half clothed Aaron Donald at the parade.
The players will have access to beds I am sure during flights to and from Australia.
On another note, the Rams expect both Puka Nacua and Alaric Jackson to play against the 49ers in Australia despite both of their off-field incidents. Nacua was sued by a woman who alleges that he ‘grabbed her by the pussy’ so to speak while he made an antisemitic remark and again, felt some need to bite her on the shoulder during a New Year’s Eve incident, and Jackson was arrested in June but not charged after a domestic violence incident came and went. The District Attorney has not gone ahead with those charges.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay expects both star wide receiver Puka Nacua and left tackle Alaric Jackson to be on the field this week in Melbourne.
McVay confirmed in that Sunday media session that he doesn’t think either player will be suspended for the team’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Jackson will most likely face a 4 to 6 game suspension this year, whereas I do not believe Puka will get any.
“Absolutely,” McVay said Sunday when asked if he thought both players would be available, via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. “That’s what I’ve heard. I haven’t heard anything different.”
I am not really into rehashing those behaviors of either player. We let it play out naturally, and I have the greatest hope they will not act that way again toward women. Someone did file a lawsuit against Nacua earlier this year over the antisemitic remark and biting allegations described above, which is odd behavior that again, I hope is behind the adult who makes a lot of money every year, to not use racial slurs and to not bite anyone, let alone a woman. The woman’s suit claims gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence. Nacua denied the allegations, though he did enter rehab to help work through it.
Worth noting since this has kept moving, an ex-girlfriend also came forward with separate abuse allegations covering their four year relationship, posted publicly on September 1. Neither the Rams nor the NFL has announced any discipline connected to either situation as of this writing.
Nacua was also involved in several incidents last season, including appearing on a live stream before a game and agreeing to perform an antisemitic touchdown celebration. In his defense, he states that he did not know it was antisemitic. I’ve explained Puka many times. He is a kid. He acts like a kid. He does need to grow up now that he has one of the best jobs ever made in the history of jobs. He entered a so called holistic care facility this past offseason to focus on his personal maturity level and has been practicing and preparing for the 2026 campaign normally with the Rams.
Nacua also had a career-high 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns last season with a league-high 129 catches.
Jackson was arrested on domestic violence charges in June. He was not charged with the felony, however, and his case was assigned for a pre-filing diversion program as an alternative to misdemeanor criminal prosecution. Therefore, he must learn how to act like an adult, or he faces those charges if he fails to complete it. Jackson is entering his sixth season in the league. The former Iowa star signed a three-year, $57 million extension this year.
Both Jackson’s case and Nacua’s case are under review by the NFL. The league could still hand down punishment and suspend either or both players before Thursday’s game in Australia (8:35 p.m. ET, Netflix). Like I alluded to above, Jackson will get hit because the league has always suspended him for personal incidents off the field before. The Rams know what is up and what to expect, but when it happens could be any minute.
Everyone can watch, listen to, and live stream Rams vs. 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, in Week 1 on Sept. 10, 2026. The game will air on Netflix and also on the Sunset app. Kickoff for Thursday night’s game is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. Pacific time.
The Rams and 49ers last met in Week 10 of the 2025 season, a 42-26 Rams victory in San Francisco. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, with wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, along with tight ends Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen, on the receiving end of those touchdowns. Running back Kyren Williams had 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Blake Corum added 56 yards on the ground. Defensively, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. had an interception and led the team with two pass breakups. Inside linebacker Nate Landman had two tackles for loss and 11 total tackles, tied for the team lead with safety Quentin Lake and inside linebacker Omar Speights.
Netflix (also locally on KNBC)
Play-by-play: Noah Eagle
Color analyst: Luke Kuechly
Sideline: MJ Acosta & Tom Pelissero
Stream via NFL+, the Netflix app, or the Sunset app.
ESPN LA 710 AM (also SiriusXM Ch. 192)
Play-by-play: J.B. Long
Color analyst: Maurice Jones-Drew
Sideline: D’Marco Farr
La Primera Radio 1330 AM
Play-by-play: Troy Santiago
Color analyst: Ricardo Lopez
ESPN LA Affiliate Stations
Instagram: @rams · Facebook: /rams · X: @RamsNFL · TikTok: @rams
Make your predictions at therams.com/pickem for a shot at these prizes:
NFL Hall of Fame player, Aaron Donald, is actually returning to the Rams!
The Hall of Fame induction will be pushed back two or three years because future NFL Hall of Fame player, Aaron Donald, is actually returning to the Rams. Don’t get me wrong, I am wrong about a lot but man was this shoved back in face to be nicer because it was shoved elsewhere considering how wrong this became and honestly, I am not shocked anymore. What is now more than two years from his initial retiring and after we then spent months watching him slowly but sure trickle his way back onto the team. It became real when TMZ took that footage of him on the actual practice field. I then wondered how much he stayed in shape because I know then he started to work out or better yet, he started training for the team.
And, because of how busy I was over the last three weeks and a weekend of constant IT work that just put me out of the writing game those days and weeks. Because in that world of coding, 7 hours goes by at the blink of eye. I then started to write about last Thursday’s game on Friday before that site imploded again, which was against the San Diego Chargers who also calls our stadium as their home, which I hate. The Stadium looks weird when they are in it as the home team. Let alone against the Rams is just odd.
That game went well in the sense that we had no starters play as far as I know play any of the game and not only that, the 3rd and 4th spot players also played most of that game. Ty Simpson played the entire first half. Stetson Bennett sat and then Matthew Caldwell played most of the second half until he got injured. His knee is in bad shape and therefore, it makes dropping a quarterback very easy because we placed him on the injured reserve for the entire 2026 season.
Therefore, our Quarterbacks are set. For now, Ty Simpson will be the third stringer and even though he will be the 2nd string QB in due time and moreover, I am good with him at the Quarterback. He won me over because of his arm strength. I mean zero offense toward Stetson Bennett and his play at all, it’s a different style all together but again, Simpson’s arm is huge. He has a line on that ball like any major quarterback has had or has today.
I did however, see a ton gaps no pun intended, with regard to the Offense Line. It was the first time a Defense was able to tackle a running back for less than 5 yards all preseason. Plus, defenders found those lanes to be able to snag a few players in the backfield but again, we literally had the 3rd, 4th and 5th string players in the entire game as far I know.
With that said, did I mention that the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is coming out of retirement which in a beautiful world, will make this Rams Defense unstoppable. I am very curious now to see that deptch chart. Let’s look at it:
This confirms what I was getting at because the trade off is clear. Is Aaron Donald a better Defensive Lineman than Poona Ford. I honestly did not think it would be more than that one player being affected however I was also wondering if they syhifted things and moved him around. There were reaklly not any other ways to manuver this to be perfect. Therefore, when you look at it that way, the $20,000,000 one year deal is a bit more viable even though i have no clue where we rea getting that money. I did not think we had more than $15,000,000 to play with after June’ish this summer. Donald by the way, is now 35, signed this deal that can be worth up to $30 million with playoff incentives.
“To be honest with you, it was on and off for a little while, but I think I knew this decision about two weeks ago,” Donald said. “I know the world was saying all types of things and nobody knew what was going on, but I kind of knew for two weeks. I talked to Sean every single week, damn near every day. We stayed in contact. I’d give him all my updates of how I was feeling, how things was going.
“I was doing everything I needed to do to get myself some peace of mind to see if I can do it. Wasn’t no rushing. Just wanted to take my time and make the decision because once you choose to come back, you’re all the way back in.”
What I want to come of this is the second coming of the Fearesome Foursome.
Shortly after the Los Angeles Rams acquired Myles Garrett in a trade with the Cleveland Browns on June 1, a Donald comeback seemed like little more than a long shot.
That fantasy scenario quickly started looking a lot more real, with McVay speaking often on the prospect in a positive light, while still leaving the decision in Donald’s hands. Things picked up steam when Donald had an official tryout on Aug. 5, as noted on the league’s transaction wire. Donald, who had already visited the Rams’ facility a few times before, worked out in a helmet but without full pads. Because he used team equipment, the Rams were required to report the session to the league. Los Angeles reported a second tryout on Aug. 16.
Donald is indeed rejoining the Rams, this time in full pads, adding even more depth to an already stacked roster and giving the defensive line a case for being called a new-age Fearsome Foursome. What’s still unclear is when he’ll actually take the field with the group. McVay told reporters Sunday that L.A. hasn’t yet decided whether Donald will suit up for the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. I really hope he gets into that game and then we can move onward without interruption.
Together, Donald and Garrett bring a combined 17 Pro Bowl selections, 13 All-Pro honors, 236.5 sacks and, most impressively, five combined AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards to the table. There was a point in our Super Bowl Championship win where Donald and that defense would just devour the Offensive Line and their Quarterback like a triangle of people swarming the entire team pushing them backward all the time. I wondered if a team could even get up to that high level of control ever again and I never really saw it before. It’s hard to explain because the entire offense would just buckle from the entire Defense just manhandling these teams’ Offenses.
Garrett, who won his second career Defensive Player of the Year award last season after setting an NFL single-season sack record with 23, was already seen as the focal point of what was a remarkable Rams offseason. Donald’s un-retirement pushes L.A.’s status as Super Bowl favorites into an entirely new stratosphere.
Here’s where things get interesting. Maybe it’s less a Fearsome Foursome now and more a Fearsome Fivesome, given how defenses across the league are built today, with that extra Edge rusher or glorified Outside Linebacker spot that just didn’t exist back in the day. Hardly any teams still line up with only 4 defensive linemen like they did in the sixties. L.A.’s front is deep: Braden Fiske has 11.5 sacks over two seasons, Byron Young made the 2025 Pro Bowl with 27.5 sacks in three years, Poona Ford holds down the run defense, and Kobie Turner closes out the group with 24 sacks in three seasons. He’s dealing with an injury heading into camp, and it looks like that’ll stick around through it.
One elite pass rusher Donald won’t get to line up alongside is Jared Verse, who went to Cleveland as part of the Garrett deal. Verse once joined a then-retired Donald for one of his legendary workouts and came away calling him a “psychopath” after losing a challenge to him. Nobody’s questioning whether Donald has stayed in shape, but whether he’s in true “football shape,” and how much rust he needs to shake off, will be storylines to watch. So will the sheer anticipation of what he’s still capable of.
Plenty of NFL defensive lines have carried the “Fearsome Foursome” label over the years, but none is more legendary than the Rams’ own, Hall of Famers Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, alongside Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy, with Roger Brown joining later. Many still call that group the greatest defensive line the league has ever seen, but it played in the pre-Super Bowl era and never got the Rams to an NFL Championship Game.
For this new version of a frightening front, the measuring stick will be February.
Super Bowl LXI lands on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the Rams’ own backyard. It’s the same stadium where Donald and the Rams claimed their greatest moment.
Donald sealed that Super Bowl LVI win with an unforgettable 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, sacking quarterback Joe Burrow on a fourth-down incompletion, capping off a second-half defensive masterclass that also included a third-and-1 stop for no gain the play before.
A lot has changed since that championship roster. Odell Beckham went back to the New York Giants, Jalen Ramsey landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ernest Jones and Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp are now Super Bowl champions themselves with the rival Seattle Seahawks, and veterans like Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein have since retired.
Donald, though, is coming back. He’ll be the lone starter left from that championship defense, rejoining just a handful of teammates who won it all alongside him: Tyler Higbee, Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton, and reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford.
Donald is not only a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, he induction will now have to wait up to three more years since you need to be retured for five full year. He will now go back ground zero and therefore, he would have been eligible for induction in 2029. Now, he’ll push his candidacy back five years from whenever he plays his final season.
Donald has played 10 NFL seasons, which began with him winning the 2014 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Donald has gone to the Pro Bowl every year, has won three DPOY honors and has earned All-Pro recognition eight times, while producing 111 sacks (career-high 20.5 in 2018), 543 tackles, 24 forced fumbles and 176 tackles for loss while earning a spot on the Hall of Fame’s All-2010s Team.
On June 1 when Garrett was acquired, Donald first teased a comeback, posting a workout video on Instagram featuring Bixst’s “Ain’t Done” and captioned “#ready.” His daughter did say that ‘Y’all are crazy’.
L.A. traded for cornerback Trent McDuffie in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed him to an extension and also signed his longtime K.C. teammate Jaylen Watson.
Overall, anything less than a championship is a failure. But I had that expectation with or without Aaron.
The next steps for me to be a real believer is to now to get some glimpses of his play. If the decision is to whether to play Aaron Donald or Poona Ford, for now and again, to me, that is an easy decision for now at least.
Legal drama, roster crunch, and kickoff countdowns — today’s biggest stories across every sport. Wednesday, August 26, 2026 The Scoreboard
Source: Legal drama, roster crunch, and kickoff countdowns — today’s biggest stories across every sport.
The Los Angeles Rams delivered the most complete performance of their preseason on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium, shutting out the New Orleans Saints 34 to 0 in a game that was effectively decided by halftime and only grew more lopsided from there. It marked the first time this franchise has posted a preseason shutout since at least the year 2000, and the manner of it, two takeaways in the red zone, a near flawless half from the presumptive backup quarterback, and a defensive performance that made two entire units look overmatched, did as much to complicate the upcoming roster cutdown as it did to build momentum heading into the regular season.
Stetson Bennett played the entire first half and left no real doubt about where the backup quarterback competition currently stands. He completed nineteen of thirty one passes for one hundred eighty one yards, and while he did not throw a touchdown through the air, he did not need to. He dove into the end zone from the one to open the scoring, then added an eight yard scramble later in the half for his second rushing touchdown, both scores coming on his only two carries of the night, exactly nine yards worth of work that produced fourteen points. Bennett has now strung together strong preseason showings across four seasons on this roster without ever appearing in a regular season game, and this one, by his own account, felt like his most comfortable outing yet, the product of a staff that has spent all camp reminding him to tuck the ball and run when his first read isn’t there.
Rookie receiver CJ Daniels needed a game like this after managing only two catches in the preseason opener against Kansas City. He got it, hauling in eight receptions for sixty eight yards on a team high twelve targets, easily his most productive outing of the summer and a real answer to anyone wondering whether last week’s quiet night was cause for concern.
With New Orleans controlling much of the time of possession in the third quarter, rookie Ty Simpson only saw three offensive series in relief of Bennett, but he made the most of them, completing eight of twelve passes for seventy three yards and leading a scoring drive of his own. It was a smaller sample than his impressive debut against the Chiefs, when he went twenty one of twenty five for one hundred ninety yards and two touchdowns, but the efficiency carried over, and there is nothing in these two performances suggesting the coaching staff is anything but pleased with how he’s developing behind the top two arms on the depth chart.
The single biggest play of the night belonged to safety Alex Cook, and the story behind it matters as much as the play itself. Late in the third quarter, with New Orleans driving and threatening to finally get on the board from the Rams’ six yard line, quarterback Spencer Rattler tried to thread a pass to his tight end in a tight window at the goal line. Cook read it from the snap, stepped in front of the throw, and turned upfield with nothing but open grass in front of him, finishing a one hundred yard interception return that pushed the lead to twenty seven to nothing with just over nine minutes left in the quarter.
Cook signed with the Rams on July 27 as one of the more well traveled players on this roster. The twenty seven year old out of Washington went undrafted, caught on briefly with the Giants across two separate stints in 2023 and 2024, then appeared in ten games for Carolina before his NFL opportunities dried up. He spent this spring with the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL, where he racked up forty five tackles, six pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery, production that earned him a third chance in the league. Saturday’s touchdown was the realization of something Cook has apparently been chasing for a while, and it instantly reframed the entire conversation around the back end of this secondary.
If Cook provided the highlight, outside linebacker Wesley Bailey provided the substance. The undrafted rookie out of Louisville, by way of a transfer from Rutgers, finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, and four quarterback hits, but the number that actually stopped people mid scroll was his pressure count. Bailey generated ten total pressures on the night, twice as many as any other player in the game, a total that only a handful of players across the entire league have reached in a preseason contest since 2023. His signature moment came late in the third quarter as well, tracking down running back Ty Chandler inside the five yard line and punching the ball loose before it could reach the end zone, a takeaway defensive lineman Payton Zdroik recovered to end the threat entirely. Head coach Sean McVay didn’t hold back afterward, saying there are certain players whose presence you simply feel on the field all day, and that Bailey was exactly that on Saturday.
The secondary had its own moments worth noting too, tying directly into a roster battle that’s been building all camp. Al’Zillion Hamilton picked off a pass of his own early in the second quarter, and Cam Lampkin, who has spent this camp fighting for the final cornerback spot on the roster, added an impressive fourth down pass breakup with just over seven minutes left in the first half. Neither takeaway wiped out a full possession the way Cook’s did, but both are exactly the kind of plays that keep showing up on tape when roster decisions get made.
The ground game finally looked like what the coaching staff has been building toward. Jarquez Hunter and Jordan Waters combined for twenty two carries and one hundred twenty two yards with a touchdown, and the line in front of them didn’t allow a single sack all night while averaging five yards a carry as a group. Hunter did the heavier lifting this time, turning twelve carries into sixty eight yards and a score, which pushes his two game preseason total to one hundred three yards on the ground. Waters added fifty four yards on ten carries of his own, bringing his own two game total to ninety one. With right tackle Keagen Trost still working back from the hamstring injury he suffered in the opener, backup Sam Blaske stepped into that spot again and held up well in both phases, giving the coaching staff a genuinely encouraging look at its depth up front.
Part of Saturday’s broadcast came from an unexpected source. Actress Brenda Song, a longtime Rams superfan who is engaged to actor Macaulay Culkin, joined the CBS Los Angeles booth for the third quarter alongside play by play voice J.B. Long, The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, and former Rams lineman Rob Havenstein, marking her debut as a color analyst. Her enthusiasm was on full display the moment Cook crossed the goal line on his interception return, and while reactions to a first time broadcaster in that seat were mixed across social media, there was no arguing with the timing. She got to call the single biggest play of the game in her very first outing behind the mic.
A win this lopsided does not make the roster any easier to finalize. It makes it harder. Los Angeles currently has four backs, Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, Jarquez Hunter, and Jordan Waters, who look like they could start somewhere in this league, and only so many spots to keep all of them happy. At receiver, with Xavier Smith sidelined this week and already presumed to hold one of the final spots, the fight for the fifth and sixth jobs between Daniels, Alex Bachman, and Brennan Presley remains genuinely unresolved, and how the coaching staff weighs live game production against long term developmental investment in a draft pick like Daniels will say plenty about this front office’s priorities once the roster actually gets trimmed.
Then there’s the problem Cook and Bailey created for themselves by playing so well. Both would normally look like players trying to sneak onto a sixteen man practice squad, but performances like these tend to get noticed by all thirty two front offices, not just the one doing the cutting. The outside linebacker room only complicates that further, with Keir Thomas II working through a groin injury he suffered earlier in this same game, thinning out a group that already had real competition at the bottom of the depth chart before Bailey forced his way into the conversation.
Signed July 27 out of the UFL. A hundred yard pick-six makes him a genuine 53-man consideration, not a practice squad afterthought.
Undrafted out of Louisville. Ten pressures and a forced fumble in one game make him nearly impossible to expose to waivers.
Even the quarterback room factors into the math. Keeping three arms, Matthew Stafford, Ty Simpson, and Stetson Bennett, protects Bennett from waivers entirely, but it also means that roster spot has to come from somewhere else on an already deep team. That’s the actual story of this preseason at this point. Not whether the Rams are good enough, but how many good players this roster can actually afford to keep.
Los Angeles closes out its preseason slate at home against the Chargers before turning fully toward the season opener, a first of its kind trip to Melbourne to face San Francisco on September 10. The scoreboard from Saturday says 34 to 0. The roster meetings this week will be a lot closer than that.