Englewood, CA – At the end of their champagne-soaked drink, smeared with sweets Super Bowl Parade last february, Los Angeles rams He began to look to the future and ponder the possibilities.
Ask coach Sean McVeigh defensive line star Aaron Donald If he wanted to come back for another title. Then, as McVeigh exclaimed, “Give it back!” At the microphone, Donald said shirtless to a raucous crowd, “Why don’t we get it back? We can be world champions again.”
The struggling team that showed up at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night didn’t seem close to making those bold statements. The Rams lose their way To the season opener 10-31 Losing a home to a buffaloAnd it might have been worse if the bills hadn’t given them four shifts.
It’s too early for the Rams to panic after a single loss, especially for the loaded Buffalo team 13 seconds Away from hosting the AFC Championship match last January and it is betting Favorite to win the Super Bowl this chapter. However, this lackluster performance revealed fundamental cracks that the Rams must repair to have any chance of becoming the first repeat NFL champion in nearly two decades.
“We weren’t ready to go,” McVeigh said. “I’m very proud of that, and that’s on me. I have to do better. There have been a lot of decisions I’ve made and I feel like I haven’t put our players in good enough places.”
Any autopsy of what went wrong with the rams Thursday night should begin with a foul that struggled to keep driving. McVay went conservative on early touchdowns for much of the night, running the ball with only modest success and consistently leaving the Rams second or third and long.
Bales’ defensive line was revamped in those situations, with Matthew Stafford being sacked seven times despite his constant rush of just four men. Von Miller, the defensive end of the All-Pro who was The bills lured away from the rams This spring, he’s had two of the biggest sacks, beating offensive tackle Joe Noteboom once at the bulls and once around the edge.
“The five weren’t really in a hurry Absolutely Tonight,” McVeigh said. “For them to be able to do this, that is a real boon to them.”
McVeigh and several Rams players admitted that crowd noise in their home stadium played a role in their struggles. The crowds of Bills fans at SoFi Stadium were so boisterous at times that the Rams had to resort to silent counting.
said Cooper Cobb, who scored 13 in 15 goals for 128 yards and lonely rams landing. “Once you go to the silent count, you lose the offensive advantage to be able to get off the ball.”
Even when Stafford had time for a pocket throw, he had only sporadic success against a group of Bells’ zone defenses designed to shade Cobb’s way and pull the ball deep. Stafford went 29 for 41 for 240 yards and showed no visible signs of pain from elbow injury Which disturbed him during the vacation, but also threw three interceptions and struggled to get in touch with any receivers besides Kupp.
Allen Robinson, a prized Rams free agent receiver, only received a pair of goals, one of which was torn for just 12 yards. With no Robinson involved, Van Jefferson injured and lack of depth in the wide receiver behind them, Stafford targeted the narrow end Tyler Higbee 11 times for minimal yards.
“At the end of the day, there were a lot of mistakes,” Cobb said. “They forced us to be consistent and sustainable. I think to the man, offensively, we haven’t done a good enough job.”
One of the last sources of concern about Ramez’ crime was Cam Akers’ disappearance in the running game. Akers, now a year and a half removed From an Achilles tendon rupture that cost him nearly all of last season, he came off the bench behind Daryl Henderson and ran the ball only three times without getting a single yard.
When asked about Akers not participating, McVay changed the topic without mentioning it.
“I’d like to involve Allen more,” McVeigh said. “I’d like to involve a lot of men more.”
The Rams’ offensive struggles gave Buffalo an opportunity to deliver an early knockout, but three turnovers prevented the Bills from extending their lead. The 10-10 first-half score was much closer than it could have been.
The Rams’ defense inability to exit the field in third place eventually proved a broken back. In a third and long game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen provided a powerful right-handed arm to defensive linebacker Nick Scott and thrust into the first defeat. On the other hand, Allen found time to throw and hit Gabe Davis on a pole pattern for 47 yards.
Both of these drives led to the buffalo landing. Then added another billing when turning a third down, using Find Allen this time Stefon Diggs for a 53-yard TD after the stellar receiver was behind Jalen Ramsey.
“We didn’t do a good enough job in the third defeats,” Rams midfielder Bobby Wagner said. “We killed the three meltdowns. We couldn’t get off the field.”
The Rams’ defeat margin of 21 points was the second-largest season-opening loss by a Super Bowl champion. Only the 2013 Baltimore Ravens suffered a worse defeat, defeating 22 points at the hands of the Denver Broncos as Peyton Manning threw seven touchdowns.
If there was a positive side to the Rams, it was their reaction to the post-match loss. McVeigh blamed himself for not putting his players in a position of success. Stafford said he wished he had fired the ball earlier into so many sacks. Wagner said not to point the finger at the attack when the defense didn’t get the job done.
Hollywood movies rarely live up to the original, but the Rams are determined to keep trying.
“We’ll fix this,” McVeigh said. “It was a very humble night, but hey, you should be able to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, I have to be better in my league. “This is exactly what I will do, this is what our coaches will do and this is what our players will do.”