Why Rams' Playoff-Less Season Was Doomed Before It Started
It's been just over 10 months since the Los Angeles Rams stood atop the NFL mountain as Super Bowl champions inside their stomping grounds at SoFi Stadium ... but it might as well have been the 2,000-mile gap between warm and sunny Los Angeles and cold and snowy Green Bay on Monday night.
In a battle of two of the NFL's most underwhelming teams, the Rams (4-10) fell 24-12 to the hometown Packers (6-8) at Lambeau Field, officially eliminating the defending champs from playoff contention with three games still to play.
Los Angeles already clinched its worst season to date under coach Sean McVay and has now secured the "honor" of being the first Super Bowl winner to miss the postseason the following year since the Denver Broncos in 2016. The Rams are also just one loss away from setting a league record for defeats by a defending champion.
Moreover, it's just the second time the Rams have missed the playoffs since McVay in 2017, serving as a shock to the system of coaches, players and fans alike.
But there were warning signs of this well in advance ... going back as early as training camp.
McVay mentioned during the season that his team was negatively affected by the short offseason that arises from deep playoff runs - and they paid the price for it early, with injury issues arising seemingly from the start.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford dealt with questions surrounding the health of his throwing elbow for much of camp, with his participation limited early on. Receiver Van Jefferson, who emerged as a reliable target during the Rams' Super Bowl run, underwent knee surgery in training camp and didn't return until Week 8.
The injuries to the skill positions were evident - but what happened on the offensive line was arguably just as bad. In training camp, rookie Logan Bruss, slated to start at right guard, suffered a season-ending knee injury, and it snowballed from there ... so much so that by the second half of Week 6, right tackle Rob Havenstein was the lone healthy starter.
The Rams started 12 different players on the offensive line in addition to Bruss and have enough on injured reserve to field an entire starting five up front.
Los Angeles' injury woes only worsened throughout the season, with Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp on injured reserve for the rest of the year and defensive tackle Aaron Donald likely facing a similar fate. In essence, three of the Rams' franchise pillars have all been bit with the injury big - in addition to the never-ending struggles on the offensive line.
And yet, perhaps the most disappointing group on the roster was running back, where Los Angeles hoped Cam Akers would return to his pre-knee injury form while trusting Darrell Henderson Jr. to steady the ship as a complimentary option.
But it just didn't work out, with Akers requesting a trade in mid-October before returning to the team in Week 8 and Henderson being waived a month later.
Through 14 games, the Rams rank No. 30 league-wide in rushing yards per game at 85. Akers is the leading rusher with 376 yards on 113 attempts, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry.
Defensively, Los Angeles was largely average across the board, particularly standing out against the run, ranking No. 4 with only 105 yards allowed per game. But ultimately, it wasn't enough to overcome the offense's struggles ... or the back-breaking, continuous flow of injuries.
Winning the Super Bowl is the primary motivation for each NFL team every season ... but an underrated side effect is the detrimental causes it can have on player health for the following season.
It's certainly a trade-off most teams would take, but the Rams fell victim to this throughout their title-defending season and are now forced to watch the playoffs from home, with eyes set on a Hollywood ending once more next season.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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