[Elvis]

The Rams are now an “infrastructure” team.

Allow me to explain what I mean by this. There are certain teams in the NFL that deserve the benefit of the doubt because of the infrastructure, starting with the head coach–quarterback combination. The Chiefs are one example. As long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy and Andy Reid is the head coach, they’ll have a chance to be really successful, regardless of all the other factors. I would put the Ravens with John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson in that category too. There’s a strong argument building for the Bills with Sean McDermott and Josh Allen as well.

Previously, I didn’t have the Rams in that category. When I was preparing for this season, I looked at things like their lack of talent on defense, the loss of Aaron Donald, and the injuries on the offensive line, and I wondered whether they’d be a good team this season. The Rams lost in overtime to the Lions on Sunday night, but as I was watching that game, I came to the realization that as long as they have Sean McVay and this version of Matthew Stafford, they’ll always have a chance.

The Rams went into Week 1 down both of their starting offensive tackles. During the game, they lost their second-string left tackle and their starting left guard. They also lost wide receiver Puka Nacua. Yet the Rams still piled up 26 first downs—tied for the most of any team in Week 1. They had the eighth-best success rate for any offense. One of the most valuable things in the NFL is having a coach and/or a quarterback who can problem solve. There will be injuries and bad matchups and unlucky bounces and unfortunate calls. The bad teams use those things as excuses. The good teams figure it out anyway.

That’s what we saw from the Rams on Sunday night. We saw it in how Stafford knew when to get rid of the ball and how to adjust his arm angles, take hits, and get back up. McVay was doing everything he could to scheme it up and call the right plays and put his players in positions to succeed. It wasn’t perfect, and the Rams still lost the game (Stafford didn’t get a chance to touch the ball in overtime), but the work McVay and Stafford did to give the Rams a chance on the road against a good Lions team is still really, really impressive.


I don’t know how this season will go for the Rams. It’s possible that the injuries will become too much to overcome. But as long as Stafford is on the field and McVay is on the sideline, I’m not counting them out in the NFC.