The Rams Must Work To Improve This Key Area vs. Ravens

The Los Angeles Rams' underlying issues were exposed in their overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers a week ago. This week, they hope to minimize their mistakes and play a complete game against a significantly depleted Baltimore Ravens team riddled with injuries.

However, special teams have had a glaring issue this season, specifically on the field goal unit. Head coach Sean McVay spoke about the consistent mistakes made by this specific group earlier in the week and what can be done to solve the riddle of the inconsistent kicking.

McVay on preventing a compounding kicking issue moving forward

McVay Ram — Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay on the field prior to the game against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Young kicker Joshua Karty has had an up-and-down season, making just 75 percent of his field goals and just under 86 percent of his extra point attempts this season. Some of those "misses" have come from breakdowns in blocking protection and technique that have led to blocked field goals. McVay said these issues are already compounded, and it is up to him and the coaching staff to get it right.

"The first thing is, are we giving clarity as coaches? The techniques, fundamentals the timing, the trajectory of the kick, the protection, the snap, there are a lot of layers to it. If it was one thing, I think it'd be a little bit easier," McVay said. "There have been a couple different things and we have an idea of what we think we need to be able to improve without putting too much out there publicly.

"Techniques, fundamentals, what's required, getting the right guys on there, and then everybody doing their one of 11. Until we get that fixed, there's going to be a continued emphasis of, if I was on the opposing team, I would be attacking that phase of our kicking game. That's what's been reflected. If you don't get things fixed in this league, the bleeding won't stop but we expect to stop that bleeding."

Karty Ram — Sep 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Rams kicker Joshua Karty (16) reacts after a field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Karty, a young kicker with immense potential, has been dealing with these issues. McVay has already seen his big-legged player go through the difficult experiences of special teams and believes that can be used as confidence for Karty in the coming weeks and months.

"‘I’ve been here before, I can respond again.’ First and foremost, it starts with mental toughness or resilience and then a security within yourself to acknowledge, where can I improve to ultimately help the collective?" McVay said. "That's what football is. It's the greatest team sport that there is. I think he's accountable. I think he understands what his role is within the framework of what we're looking for. That's the kind of guys that we want on our football team."

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