Alright, so the Los Angeles Rams are sitting at a measly 2-3 on the season, and if you’ve been watching, you know exactly why. Their special teams unit, somehow, is even more of a dumpster fire this year than it was in 2025, which, let’s be real, is saying something. This isn’t just a minor blip for Sean McVay’s squad, it’s a full-blown crisis that just cost them a Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills they absolutely should have won.
Same Old Story, Worse Ending?
You gotta wonder what’s going on down there in LA, because the hits just keep coming. In that Buffalo game, the Rams started by giving up an opening kickoff return for over 70 yards, which is just brutal. But the kicker, pun intended, was when they had a chance to win the game with a field goal, and boom, it got blocked. Game over. This isn’t a one-off. Special teams is, once again, the Achilles heel for a team that supposedly built a “superteam” in the offseason. It’s the reason they’re staring at a 2-3 record right now.
The Numbers Don’t Lie, And They’re UGLY
ESPN’s Ben Solak dropped some NextGenStats that just confirm what we’re all seeing: this special teams unit is somehow worse than the one that arguably cost them a Super Bowl shot last year. Think about this: “Per @NextGenStats: the Rams lost about -110% in win probability across the course of the 2025 season from special teams snaps,” Solak shared. And guess what? “In 2026, they’ve already lost -104% in total win probability on special teams.” Let that sink in. Through just five weeks, they’ve nearly passed their dismal 2025 total in barely a quarter of the season. Every single special teams snap they’ve had this year has cost them more than 100% in win probability. Even if they’ve had a few good plays, the bad ones are just absolutely crushing them, making any good stuff completely irrelevant.
Seahawks Fans Remember 2025, And This Feels Familiar
Remember last season’s playoffs? Yeah, us too. The Rams’ special teams might have been the exact reason they lost to YOUR Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Seriously, the talk was that if their special teams unit was even just middle of the pack, with how good their offense and defense were, they could have actually won the Super Bowl last year. Instead, they got bounced. Now, with a “superteam” that’s still 2-3, this same old problem is haunting them. Sean McVay has to get this sorted, and fast. If special teams keeps costing them games, they’re going to come up short for a Super Bowl *again*, no matter how stacked their offense and defense look on paper. We’ll be watching, LA, and so far, it’s not looking good for you.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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