I discovered who Lawrence McCutcheon was in 1974. I have to presume that of the few minutes I watched of the Los Angeles Rams losing in the NFC Championship against the Minnesota Vikings, Lawrence McCutcheon got the ball. I don’t remember it if it did happen, however, the months after that January day, I learned about this running back, Lawrence McCutcheon.

No one ever mentioned him in the news or as a top running back in the NFL. O.J. Simpson, Otis Armstrong, the two runners on Pittsburgh, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier each having over 1,000 yards rushing which back then, was hard. Lydell Mitchell. Chuck Foreman were always talked about the world of football. I never heard of this guy named Lawrence McCutcheon who had over 1,100 yards in that 1973 season.

Also, the Rams were not a team anyone ever knew about back then. They never got played on the East Coast on TV. It was very hard back then, to be a west coast fan of any team. It was near impossible considering the TV coverage.

He ended up playing for ten years rushing for 6,578 yards. He scored 39 touchdowns during the mid-70’s with five straight Pro Bowls from 1973 to 1977. He also went on to work in the Rams front office.

The Rams drafted Lawrence from Colorado State in 1972. Before that, he grew up and played in Plainview, Texas, in high school. Coach Chuck Knox considered him to be an integral part of the Rams offense. Nicknamed “Clutch,” he was a second-team AP All-Pro selection in 1974.

He played in 11 playoff games during his years with the Rams. He even threw a touchdown pass to Ron Smith when they played the Steelers in that Super Bowl, where the Rams led through the first three quarters before it all imploded.

He was also the team’s rushing leader when he left in 1980 and before the Eric Dickerson era.

McCutcheon also became a front office team executive for the team’s organization. He spent over three decades in the Rams front office. If you count the years in St. Louis, he was the director of player personnel from 2003 until he retired in 2016.

Lawrence McCutcheon was my first favorite player as a long time Ram fan.

The Rams enter this game with a total sense of urgency and in my eyes, a sense of desperation.

The Rams cannot lose this game.

Even though the offense had to punt after the first set of downs, they did score four touchdowns on the next four sets of downs, which make up the entire first half of offense. The Rams defense held the Raiders to six points on two separate field goals.

The overall vibe out there is that in the first half, this was the Rams team many expected to see all year.

I will announce that these were the first touchdowns the Rams had scored in the last 11 first quarters. It had been eleven or twelve games, depending on how you look at it, since the team scored a touchdown in a first quarter. We therefore did get that out of the way.

However, it was choppy to me. I do not think the offense at first, ironically considering they scored 4 touchdowns, was in great sync. It evolved to be perfect play but something was off to me early in the game. I felt that they were making plays but they were also doing it out of sync. It did not hurt considering the team scored on the next four consecutive drives to go into the halftime.

My current take on the wide receiver position: Puka Nacua did play, however, that decision was made pretty much close to game time. He was healthy all game. I cannot say enough about this guy. I love him. We are lucky to have him. Considering the amount of injuries the Rams face now, some other receiver needs to step up a lot more than they have so far this season. If Tutu Atwell has more than one catch, well, that’s all I can remember, and Konata Mumpfield has done a bit more while being in on many plays this year. He has not, though, had a big game. He had a big play in this game. He made a sick catch that could have been intercepted. No other receiver besides our two starting ones has had huge games. There are signs of it, but nothing has broken for the remaining backup receivers. That bothers me a bit.

That does open up avenues for up to four Tight Ends with Coach Sean McVay’s new scheme with holding onto 5 potential starters, to now come up with big plays. For the most part, they all do well. And, this game, all Tight Ends got the ball and that also showed as they had touchdown scores too.

Matthew Stafford threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns. I thought he had many more passing yards all game, but in doing that, he is now the Rams’ all-time leader in passing touchdowns. The quarterback who held that record was Roman Gabriel, whom I never saw play as a Ram (he was on the Eagles when I discovered the Rams and, in essence, the NFL; I would see him play for the Eagles for just a year or two).

The first QB I ever saw play was James Harris. I loved James Harris. Regardless, Stafford is the first player to hold that record with two different teams. Stafford had 282 touchdown passes for Detroit, and again, that record is still in place for the Lions.

Speaking of initial intro into the Rams I am writing about my first favorite player on the Rams, Lawrence McCutchen. Expect that Substack today.

The running game was also very solid at this point in the game. It was more of the same, with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum matching carries all game. They both ended up with more than 90 yards for the game. They had 192 yards total between them, and two touchdowns. Corum technically busted one open but was called back due to a penalty. Each will have a long touchdown or two because they make so many plays happen on their own. I was also on the fence with regard to the penalty call. At first, I thought it was a face mask the way his head snapped to his left, it was however, the pad. I am not sure if it was that visual or if he had his arm somewhere. I did not see much of a penalty and so that was a shame.

Again, they are both excellent running backs. They make so much of their positives on their own. They make plays constantly.

Setting aside the three major plays we will get into, which is when the Rams were trying to lose again, the main urgent need, which must happen fast, is special teams. This new special teams coach needs to coach. This is not hard. They are spreading the team out a tad too much, and they are not all equally fast, hence the gaps that seep through on every run back. This is all about coaching and staying within their own lanes. The entire special teams unit is like watching someone fail a polygraph, when you see the line high and low and all over the place. That is what the Rams’ special teams looks like. You have one guy way down the field, another guy a few yards back, and then moving inward they are behind, but then one is ahead on the upper side, and so on, and by the time they get to a player, it’s behind them because of these gaps. A runner can get past our special teams players that are just not in sync, and boom, they have that 40-to-70-yard play.

Let me put it this way: when is the last time a special teams unit has not had at least a 40-yard run against it?

I still do not know why we did not draft a solid kicker this year. That makes zero point zero sense to me, and it did at that time too.

Like I alluded to above, the offense just systematically took the Raiders defense out of their game. There were a few bomb attempts by Stafford but none were really close and any big play came on a short pass and lots of yards after the catch.

The Rams had the fewest penalties last year, and we also doubled that, having the 11th most this year. When Puka catches it and runs it down low, Williams gets down to the one-yard line. Then Davis Allen gets called for a penalty, moving the ball back to the 11-yard line. Now it’s first and goal from the 11, when Stafford hits Allen again for his second touchdown of the game. That made it 13-3.

For the first time in over two years, I am fully confident about our kicker. I am very psyched to have Brandon McManus now on the team. This is the most secure I have felt about the kicker in years. The extra points are right down the middle, too. Last Tuesday, he competed against Matt Prater for the spot at kicker. McManus was our top pick but I also thought that Blake Grupe was a bad pick. I thought that he looks great and solid as a player for the NFL. I also think either two choices this week were excellent choices. Probably better than what I brought to the table a few weeks ago. I love this pick up. I feel so good about it.

Now, deep into the second quarter, Puka scores his touchdown before trying to execute a multi player dance routine. After the point after went down the middle again, it is a 21-3 game with 1:25 left in the half. I did not understand the dance though, Puka tried to get everyone to participate. The Rams get the ball back and I thought they should continue with the run game.

At halftime, I was very concerned about any complacency in the second half. I was also happy to hear the coach did too as he conducted the halftime interview. He mentioned that over and over during it. That made me feel good. I felt that if we could run up the score to 88 to 6, I would be fine with it for this game.

It had nothing to do withe Raiders, I kind of like the team or I do not hate them which is rare for me. I wonder if that Raiders coach, Klint Kubiak, is related to Gary. I also think they should think hard about starting that new quarterback they drafted this year, Fernando Mendoza. I think Kirk Cousins is great. I have always liked and respected his play for decades or a decade, but I think he screws up way more than not these days. He is still an excellent QB. I that a change could work if they do it this year. This game, Cousins passed for 295 yards with a touchdowns pass to Tre Tucker and running back Ashton Jeanty.

Leading up to the half, the Rams offense started executing on every cylinder.

I agree. I thought the play calling was pretty much perfect all day.

I had to think about why this one time out was called but as far as plays, man did they systematically break down that defense pretty much at will.

Puka had eight passes for 68 yards and the touchdown for the Rams we just spoke about before halftime. Davis Allen had two TDs at tight end. Though it was not for lack of trying all year, these are Allen’s first touchdown catches of the year. Stafford had made many previous attempts that failed for whatever reason. I said to someone earlier this year that Stafford wants Allen to be his sweetheart to pass to.

I also loved how the team utilized everyone on offense. They spread it out so sweetly all game.

The Rams went three-and-out after getting the ball first in the second half, before a punt down to the 9-yard line. Then the Raiders executed a fake punt. However, the Rams held them off on the next set of downs. But then the Rams fumbled, and listen, he (Williams) is going to fumble two to three times in a given year, but he must become very cognizant of that ball from now on. He recognizes his mistakes and is like a coach. He will shift and be fine but he cannot let up for a millisecond. If he stays focused from now on, because he is a worker, that reminds me of a coach, he will figure it out. He became complacent for a second and so he just needs to pay attention to holding that ball on literally every play. He has had his two fumbles we allow before getting angry. Plus, his positives outweigh two fumbles. In this case, the Rams get the ball back, and so all that did was waste more time for the Rams in this half.

Anyway, that punt to the 9-yard line was one of the best special teams plays we had all season. The Raiders then moved down the field and scored a touchdown. Then the Rams threw an interception that went off Parkinson’s hands and into the Raiders defensive back’s hands.

Then, no sooner did I asked myself if Tyler Higbee is even playing, he makes a big play with an excellent catch.

After the initial point early in the first half, the Rams led by 22 points at the half. This is the Raiders’ largest home stadium deficit at halftime was against Cincinnati 24-0 in 2015.

The Rams Defense is also playing great.

Braden Fiske got the first sack of the game, and on the very next play, Byron Young got the second sack for the Rams well into the third quarter. They did have many close calls all game. The defense did well.

The Raiders also tried an on sides kick that failed. Mumpfield snagged the ball after the Matt Gay quick switch-a-roo before attempting it. He made pretend that we was kicking it up high, but turned around to kick to where Puka was not. I like seeing Matt Gay. I did not want him to miss any short kicks but I did not want him to make any long ones.

As for the playoffs since it went to 14 teams a few years ago, 10 of 41 teams made the playoffs after opening 3-4. 4 of 33 made it into playoffs at 2-5.

As for the Raiders on offense, Tucker had five receptions with 103 yards, and Jeanty had eight catches for 61 yards versus the Rams defense. Cousins leads the NFL with 16 TD passes. Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. had only 42 rushing yards on 14 attempts. The Raiders allowed another 30-plus points for the fourth week in a row.

Los Angeles did stop its two-game losing streak.

Up next, Rams play the Chargers, next Sunday, in our SoFi Stadium. The Raiders come to New Jersey to play this week against the New York Jets next Sunday.

Overall, I think that I saw that this stadium in Vegas has a band play live. That’s pretty wild.

Two missed field goals, including the 48-yard attempt that would have won the game in overtime. That blocked kick was Harrison Mevis’ second failed attempt last night. On top of that, the Rams allowed the Bills a long return on the opening kickoff, which was run back more than 70 yards on the first play of the game. Needless to say, special teams for the Rams are a serious issue today.

The problem is that it is accepted that we miss at least one field goal or point after attempt literally every game. We need to accommodate for it by adding on more offense, but the problem is that these games are close. Besides, the team should not have to overcompensate each game by needing to score more points just because we know there will be a missed field attempt. Granted, we have made every extra point, however, Mevis has missed 4 already this season. He has made 5 field goals out of 9 attempts.

The Rams are generally too good to allow that to cost us the outcome of the game. Last night is just too much. The Rams offense does way too much work to constantly come up with zero points after a given drive downfield.

Coach McVay said after the game that “Yeah, I’m going to evaluate everything.”

The Rams (2-3) did make some additions on special teams during the offseason this year. However, the kicker position was not addressed and honestly, special teams has been poor for a few years. The special teams cost the Rams a few games, including losing out on the top seed in the NFC. That loss cost the team home field advantage and a bye in the first round. Special teams also helped with that loss in the NFC Championship Game to the Seattle Seahawks.

The team did hire Bubba Ventrone as the special teams coordinator. The team also signed a few players during free agency, including the so-called long snapper, Joe Cardona, and special teams linebacker Grant Stuard. Starters were also placed to do various blocking, return and coverage, and it was a focal point throughout training camp. These weaknesses are not only showing in games so far this year, they are responsible for losing games.

Mevis thought he kicked the ball well in overtime, but Greg Rousseau slipped by guard Kevin Dotson, with his hands straight up overhead and connecting with the ball for the block.

For what it is worth, all of his misses this year are indeed longer than 40 yards.

That was not the only reason the Rams lost last night. Josh Allen, the Bills quarterback, ran for 121 yards on 10 runs. That is total defensive breakdowns to allow that to happen all game. Allen also had 210 pass yards, 2 TDs, and he garnered his 100th career win.

James Cook had 25 carries, 111 rushing yards, 2 TDs, and that dominated the ground game despite an early OT fumble. Matthew Stafford had 383 passing yards, 3 TDs, and delivered a dominant performance in a painful special teams loss. Puka Nacua had 17 catches, 138 receiving yards and 1 TD.

Also, even though McVay’s conservative play calling on third down after quarterback Matthew Stafford drove the offense down field, he also made some good play calls during the game. When Kyren Williams got an inside handoff from shotgun on third-and-5 for no yards. That led to the longer kick.

You can expect changes in that regard today.

Josh Karty is available but is as good as he was back when he was with the Rams a few years ago. He did not make the Arizona Cardinals team this year and has spent the last month working out for teams like the Titans and Jets. Younghoe Koo is also available. Koo spent time with the Falcons and Giants before an offseason stint with the Jets and a workout with the Titans in August 2026. Tucker McCann has been playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks and so he’s technically available too. Charlie Smyth can be snagged via what would be another practice squad raid. He is currently sitting on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad; Smyth is a developmental option the Rams could sign directly to their active roster. Justin Tucker, the legendary former Raven, worked out with the Jets in September, and he remains a free agent. Michael Badgley, “The Money Badger,” is a free agent too. He has been working out with various teams this year.

Let’s see where this day lands because something should happen as soon as today.

What the hell just happened in this game? Somehow, the Rams win after overcoming 2 different 10-point deficits, let alone one with 4 minutes left in the game in the 4th quarter. The Rams win 24-20 over the Eagles at the Linc (Lincoln Financial Field) in what was a horrible game. I am still counting the amounts of penalties and penalty yards both teams had, and then if you talk about a tale of two halves, it was not in the way one would think — because in the first half, every tipped ball, every knocked pass, every thrown pass whether bad or good would somehow land in the Eagles’ hands. The Rams would tip the ball or almost intercept it and the ball would end up in the hands of an Eagle. A sure interception turned into a touchdown for the Eagles when it went through the hands of Quentin Lake and into Darius Cooper for the touchdown. But then the tide turned later in the game, when the opposite would happen. The Rams were getting these tips off people’s hands and everything was ending up in Rams players’ hands.

In the end, Kyren Williams scored twice in the fourth quarter for the game-winning scores because the Rams needed two scores with 4:10 remaining in the game. And, with the Eagles having the ball, the Rams defense did not allow a 3rd down all day let alone at the end of the game. Nor did they allow a score in the second half, and then they held the Eagles to 1-4 on 4th down plays. Jalen Hurts was also sacked 4 times, and honestly, he could have been sacked at least three more times, but he was just missed a lot all day. The Rams Defense played exceptional football.

The Rams and the Eagles find themselves at 2-2 so far this year.

For the most part, and no doubt most of the game, the Rams played poorly. The mistakes made are across the board with a couple of bad passes, and I hate to say it but Davante Adams had a couple of dropped easy catches. Adams had 4 receptions for 32 yards while being targeted a total of 9 times. Those dropped pass plays were also during drives that were halted in their tracks both times. And, after returning from his hip and groin injury, Puka Nacua had 9 receptions, 125 receiving yards, and 1 rushing touchdown skipping into the end zone.

With both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald out, this defense stepped up big time.

For me, Kamren Kinchens was the star of the game. He had .5 sacks, 6 tackles, 3 being solo tackles. Then, set aside allowing the Cooper touchdown at the end of the half, Quentin Lake played very well. Kobie Turner was in the backfield all day. Byron Young is the defensive hero of the day. He nailed down 2 late-game sacks on the final drive that basically led to the eventual win.

Both teams went into the game with many key injuries and both teams added to it. Saquon Barkley was injured early in the game and then his backup, Tank Bigsby, was also injured late in the game. For the Rams, Konata Mumpfield went down and never returned. I think that was another shoulder injury. Barkley, by the way, went out with a hamstring pull.

Let’s be real, I do not want to play teams unless they have their full squad, so I did not like it when Barkley went down. That is also why, if what I heard was correct, some Rams players were waving at the Eagles fans. I get it. No one likes Eagles fans. They threw snowballs at Santa Claus. But for God’s sake, we could play them again in a few months, in the playoffs. We have been playing them a lot lately, so we will be back, and most of all, Barkley went out, and not only that, he also went out early. They lost one of their best players.

Let’s also be real in that the Rams had no business winning this game. I was shocked at the end. I felt like this game was like a typical WWE match. What I mean is, the match starts off pretty slow and even, and then it shifts when one guy gets the shit kicked out of him for most of the match. Like Hulk Hogan used to do, he would somehow get up the strength to come back and win. That is what I felt like as a Rams fan during this game. I thought we got the shit kicked out of us and then came back to win, thanks to the likes of Vince McMahon who picked the winners basically, who allowed that player to win.

This was nothing to be happy about, and most of all, it was not a game where you taunt Eagles fans. If our players did that after the game, they need some self-awareness. Wrong place. Wrong time.

Overall, besides the last two touchdowns late in the game, the Rams could not do anything on offense. It was the defense that kept the game close for the Rams to come back in the end. They held the Eagles off to a few 4th down plays, including one time inside the 5-yard line.

Stafford and the Rams in the end had to score on a 98-yard touchdown drive and a 79-yard touchdown drive, with Williams scoring both times.

I am not even sure who the Rams play next week. I do not even care who we play, but I am no doubt waiting for this team to get on all 4 cylinders, so to speak. The continuity has been suspect, and our flow is there at times, and not anywhere at times.

I also maintain that teams must start to take preseason a lot more seriously. The Rams in particular, because what is happening around the league is people are getting injured now and teams are still trying to figure things out games 3 and 4 into the regular season. If you look at the Raiders that are 4-0, maybe it’s because, setting aside Maxx Crosby who sat during preseason games, the starters had to play during preseason since they had to turn the entire team around and had so many new players.

The problem with my theory is how the Rams, at times, waltz down the field like we drink water. But most of all, let’s talk about the elephant in the room, so to speak. Aaron Donald did not play in the game. This defense had its best game of the year. What do we think about that unfolding? And then, of course, we have the Myles Garrett situation on defense. I want them back and playing, but man, they need to be ready. This Aaron Donald thing is a big distraction so far. While yes, he is playing well and seemingly not hurting the team when he was in, considering he is not dominating, is the cohesiveness better without him in the game? I am sorry, but you need to question that. If Donald today is not better than our current players on the line, he should not have come back. We said that many times here.

But let’s be real about this game. It was awful. It was ugly. It was bad.

The only real saving grace is that the Rams somehow won.

That is the only reason I am not pissed off right now. I was, however, pretty silent all game. I almost gave in to the fact that we are just not a great team like I thought we were, and that got to me throughout the game.

Where do I even start with regard to last night’s game? What do you call that type of play where you just come out in the second half thinking, what — the game is in hand? There is no way we can lose this game? It is 16-0 after the half and what, that’s it? Where was everyone in the second half? And I know that we had high points, and yes, I do know that we should have won the game and that we had plenty of chances to win that game. I get that. That is all implied.

I watch Ted Lasso and his methods. Granted, there was a point when Coach McVay pulled the team together on the sideline, but what did everyone do during the break at halftime? There is an argument, like again, maybe Ted Lasso would not say one word since things seemed to be working well, but did no one discuss anything at the halftime break? Did anyone talk about a game plan for the second half, because clearly Sean Payton had to be pissed off that he was not calling his own plays, and clearly that offensive coordinator, Davis Webb, had his job hanging in the balance before he rose to the occasion right away in the 3rd quarter.

It was also not a lack of chances either. We had a 26-23 lead when Matthew Stafford threw the 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Konata Mumpfield. There was 3:38 left in the game. The Rams then allowed Bo Nix and the Broncos to get down to the Rams 15-yard line with a 39-yard pass reception to wide receiver Pat Bryant and a 21-yard pass play to wide receiver Troy Franklin. The Broncos even had a 2nd down and 20 yards after a holding penalty.

On a 3rd and 6, and Josh Wallace — ironic to this call and play, since he was one of my stars of the game — the refs called a horrible defensive pass interference penalty and that of course kept things going for Denver. I am still not sure why the coach did not ask for a review, and nor do I even know if the team was allowed to review it. Regardless, they had another 3rd-down stop on a 3rd and goal from their 5, but then we get called on an illegal use of hands penalty against safety Quentin Lake that also kept the drive going for the Broncos.

The Rams then get down to the Broncos’ 14-yard line when an illegal procedure pushed them back five yards to the 19. Stafford was then intercepted in the end zone by their safety Talanoa Hufanga, who had a real good second half.

The final four minutes made this probably a great game to watch if you had no stake in it — it was hard. However, it was all about the two halves, and not even fully, because the Rams still had chances to win while they fully dominated the entire first half.

The Rams shut out the Broncos in the first half with 273 total net yards of offense, while the Defense held the Broncos to 67 yards. Then, in the second half, the Broncos went down field to score early.

Rams wide receiver Davante Adams, running back Kyren Williams and tight end Tyler Higbee all had big games; Williams had 158 yards from scrimmage, including 88 on the ground plus six receptions for 70 yards, while Higbee had eight receptions for 62 yards and one touchdown. Adams led L.A.’s receivers with 137 receiving yards on seven receptions. He did have one easy miss, and same with Mumpfield, however, he managed to have a great game with four receptions for 93 yards and that bomb to go ahead with minutes left in the game.

The teams traded punts after each of their opening drives, but then the Rams scored on a five-yard pass from Stafford to tight end Tyler Higbee. The Rams were up 7-0 with 4:55 left in the first quarter. The Rams converted on both a 3rd-and-7 and a 4th-and-4 leading to the touchdown.

Denver kicker Wil Lutz missed a 43-yard field goal attempt that hit the left upright with 1:23 to go in the first quarter. The Rams then scored on a 36-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis in the second quarter. It was now 10-0, after a holding penalty and a third-down drop halted the Rams. The Rams then had a 1st-and-10 on the Broncos 15-yard line before a delay of game, an illegal formation call and a pass interference penalty preceded a 35-yard field goal by Mevis. The Rams now had a 13-0 lead with 4:46 left in the half. Mevis kicked another 40-yard field goal at the end of the first half as time ran out. The Rams took the 16-0 shutout into halftime.

The Rams stopped the Broncos on the opening drive of the second half. Ironically, it backed up the Rams after punt returner and wide receiver Xavier Smith caught the ball on the goal line — he could only get it out to the 10-yard line. The Rams were stopped in three, and so after the punt, Broncos wide receiver Kolbe Katsis caught it at their own 30 and returned it 28 yards to the Rams’ 42-yard line.

That was their best starting field position after six offensive series. Denver scored with a 5-yard pass play from quarterback Bo Nix to wide receiver Pat Bryant. They then converted a 2-point attempt with a Nix pass to Waddle. The Rams now led by 8 about halfway through the 3rd quarter.

Rams linebacker Grant Stuard made a tackle on special teams that would’ve backed up the Broncos to the 9-yard line after a fumbled ball, but it was called back because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Emmanuel Forbes Jr. The Broncos had the 4th down replayed, forcing the Rams to punt again. That punt allowed the Broncos to get even better field position than last time, starting with the ball at the 48-yard line.

That net was 39 yards as far as the new starting field position — we handed them that great field position. The Broncos scored on an 8-yard pass play by Nix to tight end Nate Adkins. They then executed the 2-point conversion on a Nix completion to Bryant, tying the game at 16 with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

The Rams got the ball back on the next series with an interception by cornerback Josh Wallace. He returned it 26 yards to the Broncos 37. The Rams scored another 3 points off a 48-yard field goal by Mevis. The Rams had the 3-point lead with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter. Stafford was sacked on a third-down safety blitz by the Broncos’ Talanoa Hufanga.

Wallace helped force a 3rd-down incompletion on the next series that caused Denver to punt. Stafford’s pass to Williams was then intercepted by Hufanga and returned 66 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Broncos the 23-19 lead with 4:49 remaining in the game. That pick-six came three plays after a Davante Adams 42-yard catch-and-run that had helped get the Rams into Broncos territory.

A 20-yard pass from Stafford to Williams put the Rams at the Broncos 14, with Stafford spiking the ball with 3 seconds left. After a timeout by Denver with 2 seconds left, and a false start, Stafford was intercepted by Hufanga to end the game.

Sixteen unanswered points in the fourth quarter. A pick-six. A pick to end it. That’s how you go 1-2.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

McVay 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?

What 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.

Following 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.

And 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.