Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is officially headed to injured reserve for at least four weeks, a gut punch after the Los Angeles Rams’ absolutely embarrassing 27-7 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia to kick off the season. This unit was supposed to be the most formidable defense in the entire league, stacked at every level, from the front seven to the secondary, but apparently, “stacked on paper” means nothing when you get pushed around like that. Now, their star DPOY is out for the foreseeable future with arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee. You just can’t make this stuff up.
Myles Garrett’s Week 1 Was a Red Flag Waving Everywhere
Think about it: Garrett missed most of training camp and the preseason, battling knee inflammation. He somehow still made his Rams debut in Week 1, but “non-factor” doesn’t even begin to cover it. The guy finished the game with zero tackles, zero sacks, and zero QB hits. Zero. What even happened there? After the game, he spilled the beans, telling reporters he wasn’t 100%, that his knee was still a painful distraction, and that became his focus instead of the opponent. “This was the worst version of myself that I’ve put out there,” Garrett admitted. “I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and that I’ve shown I’ve been before.” That’s a brutal quote for a guy you’re banking on to anchor your defense. It tells you everything you need to know about where his head, and knee, were at. Now, he’s sidelined until at least Week 6.
The “Fearsome” D-Line? More Like “Practically Nonexistent”
But let’s be real, Garrett wasn’t the only problem Down Under. The entire defensive front looked completely lost. We’re talking about Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, and Byron Young. The source article put it perfectly: they were “practically nonexistent.” They managed to hit Brock Purdy a grand total of twice and couldn’t even sniff a single sack. This is the unit that supposedly inspired Aaron Donald to come out of retirement? Wild. The Rams might point to jetlag after flying in the day before the game, but putting that excuse aside, the cold, hard fact is their front seven won’t be at full strength until Week 6 at the absolute earliest. While they supposedly have the depth to survive without a five-time All-Pro for a quarter of the season, and Aaron Donald is set to debut in Week 2 at SoFi Stadium on Monday Night Football, the collective performance in that season opener offered absolutely zero signs of encouragement. The dream pairing of Garrett and Donald? Yeah, that’s been officially deferred to at least October. What a mess.
It’s Week 2, and the Rams are already staring down a significant challenge. Donald’s debut will be crucial, but how much can one returning legend do when the rest of the unit looked so bad and your DPOY is on ice? They’ve got a long road ahead before that “formidable” defense even begins to resemble itself.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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