The Los Angeles Rams are already digging themselves out of a hole, dropping their 2026 season opener to the 49ers by a brutal 20 points on Thursday. This marks the third time head coach Sean McVay has started a campaign with a loss, and honestly, that 20-point shellacking is their worst opening-game defeat since back in the 2022 season, when the Bills dropped them by 21.
You gotta wonder what’s going on down there. McVay’s squad actually has a pretty good track record in season openers, going 7-3 since the 2017 campaign kicked off. But when they do stumble out of the gate, their Week 2 performance has been a complete mixed bag. The good news? They’ve only lost back-to-back games to start a season once under McVay. That’s a tiny bit of hope as they try to shake off that Australian adventure and prep for a primetime matchup against the Giants.
When Things Go South: The 2024 Cardinals Nightmare
Remember 2024? That Week 1 loss to the Lions in overtime, 26-20, was rough, but Week 2 was an absolute gut punch. The Rams got absolutely annihilated, losing 41-10 to the Cardinals. That one stunk to high heavens all around, big time. Injuries at wide receiver and offensive line definitely didn’t help, but nobody, and I mean nobody, expected Arizona to run them out of the stadium like that. The Cardinals, the same team that would eventually fall apart and miss the playoffs, started that game with a 21-0 lead and then widened it to 34-3 by the third quarter. The outcome was never, ever in doubt. Arizona amassed nearly 500 yards of offense while the Rams barely scraped together 245. LA truly never stood a chance. It’s wild to think they actually recovered after that abysmal start, went on to win the NFC West, and even almost made it to the NFC Championship.
The 2022 Redemption: A Near-Collapse Victory
Fast forward to the 2022 season, fresh off a Super Bowl win. They got humbled in Week 1, losing 31-10 to the Bills. So, Week 2 against the Falcons was a chance to prove themselves. They started strong, making quick work of Atlanta, jumping out to a dominant 28-3 lead. By early in the fourth quarter, they were up 31-10, a complete reversal from the previous week’s beatdown. But because it’s the NFL, things always get squirrelly. The Falcons scored touchdowns on two straight drives, cutting the lead to a scary six points. Atlanta even drove all the way to the LA 24-yard line before Jalen Ramsey, bless his heart, saved the day with a jaw-dropping interception to seal the game. Seriously, they were fortunate not to fall to 0-2 after that near-collapse. A win is a win, though, and for a season that didn’t have many highlights, that Ramsey pick was definitely one.
Now, with that 20-point loss to the 49ers fresh in their minds, the pressure is squarely on the Rams to get it together. Their primetime matchup against the Giants in Week 2 isn’t just another game; it’s a huge test. If they can’t rebound quickly, things could get seriously stressful real fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Turf Show Times.
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