LOS ANGELES — Back in September, the Rams in the midst of an 0-2 start to the season, with six key contributors beginning indeterminate roads to injury recovery, head coach Sean McVay didn’t so much as challenge his players as make a blunt observation about where his team stood.
“We’re in the midst of a little bit of a storm right now,” he said, “and we learn a lot about people when you go through it.”
The Rams had to endure a few more turbulent weekends, dropping to 1-4. But two wins in a row have the Rams entering Week 9’s road game at the Seattle Seahawks with the chance to leave the cloud cover in better shape than they could have expected.
With a win over their divisional rivals at Lumen Field, the Rams (3-4) would move back up to .500 and, at worse, into a tie for second place in the NFC West. Possibly even first, depending on the result of Arizona-Chicago.
While injuries plague the rest of the division, the Rams are finally starting to get healthy. Cooper Kupp is back, and the Rams appear optimistic that fellow wide receiver Puka Nacua won’t miss Sunday’s game after aggravating his knee injury in practice this week. Offensive lineman Joe Noteboom should be back next week, and linemates Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson appear to be nearing their returns, too.
After last week’s win over the Vikings, the Rams are starting to play the type of complementary football that McVay and general manager Les Snead envisioned when they constructed this roster. An offense with Kupp, Nacua, quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Kyren Williams on the field putting up big numbers and forcing opponents to keep up, putting the Rams’ defense in passing downs to let its young rush take over.
“I thought we played a complete team game,” McVay said, “where there were examples which is reflective of football where one side is picking up the other, complementary ball, and then being able to close out the game.”
The Rams will look to continue that against Seattle, but it wouldn’t be a 2024 Rams game without an injury throwing a wrench in the plans.
Or, in this case, an illness, as punter Ethan Evans will miss Week 9. The Rams signed two potential replacements to the practice squad this week, including Ryan Sanborn, kicker Josh Karty’s college teammate at Texas, which could have led to a smoother operation in the place kicking unit. But ultimately the Rams opted to elevate Ty Zentner to the active roster Saturday. The second-year punter has averaged 44.9 yards per punt in his NFL career.
But with some uncertainty on special teams this week, it could impact the Rams’ calculus on fourth down.
“We don’t want to make reckless decisions and these are circumstances that you have to navigate,” McVay said.
And the Rams will have to navigate against a familiar face Sunday.
Last week, the Seahawks traded for linebacker Ernest Jones IV, a captain for the Rams last season who was traded to the Titans the week before this season began.
“It’ll definitely be weird,” Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “When we go out there for pregame warmups or whatever it is and I see him on the field, that’s definitely going to be a little bit weird.”
Jones is still adjusting to his new team and is questionable for Sunday with a neck injury, so he may not end up playing. But if he does, he will look a lot like the same player that led the Rams in tackles last year. He has a 7% miss rate on tackles this season with four pressures while allowing two catches on three targets this season.
“It’d be hard to deny the production that he’s had when you look at what he’s done at Tennessee and even just in his first week there last week,” McVay said. “I think all the decisions that we make in the moment we feel like are in the best interest. I’m not going to pretend and act like every decision is accurate.”
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Even if some of the hindsight shines an unflattering light, the Rams have still done what they could have hoped when things started to look helpless in September. And now they have a chance to declare themselves fully in Seattle.
“What I’ve been proud of is the way that we’ve navigated through a lot of different things in seven weeks,” McVay said. “I think it’s made guys better and it stretches you in ways that while they might not be comfortable at the time, growth does occur. When you look back on it, I think you can appreciate it a lot more than sometimes when you’re in the midst of it.”
RAMS (3-4) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (4-4)
When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
TV/Radio: Fox (Ch. 11)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 382, 227