https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/rams-feel-like-theyve-underachieved-even-at-5-2-which-is-a-scary-thought-for-the-rest-of-the-nfc-200553386.html
The NFL has been a bit of jumbled mess this year where it feels like more teams than usual have a reasonable case for making a run in the postseason, but one NFC team has emerged as a legitimate Super Bowl contender: the Los Angeles Rams.
Their 35-7 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London was their latest impressive win on the season, and they’ve kept pace with the San Francisco 49ers atop the NFC West. It may sound unreasonable, but at 5-2 it feels like the Rams have underachieved this season. On a down-to-down basis they’ve arguably been the best team in the league even though they dropped two games to the 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.
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In fact, the two losses they took help define why they’re one of the NFL’s best teams. They still performed well in those games, combining for an offensive success rate of 50.4%, according to TruMedia. The defense had a success rate of nearly 60% over those two games, which is a dominant figure when compared to season-long rates. They just let those games slip away despite controlling them on a down-to-down basis. They had the Eagles in absolute hell for 2.5 quarters before some ill-timed plays in high-leverage situational moments let them down in the end. Their defense was put in bad spots in short fields against the 49ers, but they still did enough to stifle them for the second half and give the offense a chance to get back into the game.
Even before they went to London and put the clamps on the Jaguars, the Rams have been the only team this season to make the Indianapolis Colts look like a regular NFL offense. They held a unit averaging 3.4 points per drive this season to 1.7 and their least efficient output of the season. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula has done an incredible job with a Rams defense that’s filled with young players in the front seven and is still searching for true stars in the backfield. With the offense humming, even without superstar wide receiver Puka Nacua, the Rams are probably the most complete team in the NFL this season.
All of this hinged on the status of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, but he’s been healthy and is allowing this offense to play at a high level. The Rams currently rank third in success rate (47%) and 10th in expected points added per play (0.07). Pair that with a defense that has been legitimately elite to start the season and it’s easy to see how they were able to just pummel the Jaguars Both teams were both 4-2 going into that game, but it was clear the Jaguars were not actually in the same realm as the Rams. One looked like a Super Bowl contender while the other is still searching for an identity with a new coaching staff.
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The NFC West race will be tight, with the 49ers currently holding the tiebreaker, but the Rams have been a much more efficient (and healthier) team than the 49ers this season, so it’ll be interesting to see where their records progress. If the Rams can stay clean from the mistakes that caused them to drop those early games, they have the framework of a team that can own homefield advantage for their run through the playoffs.
Sean McVay and Les Snead have done it again. A quick retooling was all they needed to get back to the top of the conference, and the potential is here to take it by storm.
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/rams-feel-like-theyve-underachieved-even-at-5-2-which-is-a-scary-thought-for-the-rest-of-the-nfc-200553386.html
