10 Takeaways From Rams’ Collapse Against Broncos on Sunday Night Football

The Los Angeles Rams fell to the Denver Broncos in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday Night Football, 30-26. It’s the type of loss that the Rams have become too accustomed to experiencing over the last two seasons. After three weeks, the Rams currently sit at 1-2 and look to be a team with their backs against the wall. Here are 10 takeaways from Sunday night’s game against the Broncos.

Rams Defense Picks Up Where It Left Off

We will certainly get to what happened in the second half, but to start the game, the defense picked up where it left off. The Rams outgained the Broncos by 206 net yards in the first half. It’s the Rams’ largest first-half net yard differential since they outgained Arizona by 327 yards in Week 13 of 2019. Bo Nix was held to six completions on 12 attempts and the Broncos averaged 2.6 yards per carry. The Rams forced a three-and-out on three of the Broncos’ first five possessions. After finding their groove last week against the Giants, the defense picked up where it left off.

Kyren Williams Does It All Against Broncos

Blake Corum was shut down by the Broncos’ defense during the game. However, Kyren Williams played with a different energy and intensity level. He came out and had a 30-yard run, which was the fourth-longest of his career. He also had an insane catch along the sideline, showing off his ability as a receiver. Williams became the first Rams running back since Todd Gurley in 2018 to have 70 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving in the same game.

Ayyo what a catch by Kyren 🤯

📺 @SNFonNBC | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/kOmguNPUXg
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 28, 2026

Red-Zone Mistakes Prove Costly

The Rams led by a comfortable 16-0 margin at halftime, but it could have and probably should have been more. In the first half, the Rams went 1-for-3 in the red zone, with timely penalties stalling the offense. On the second red-zone possession, Steve Avila was called for a hold after Blake Corum picked up the first down on 3rd-and-2. On the next drive, Davante Adams picked up a first down on 2nd-and-15, but was called for offensive pass interference.

Normally, it’s McVay’s play-calling that becomes an issue in the red zone. That wasn’t the case on Sunday night. The offense simply played undisciplined in big moments in the red area, setting the offense up in bad situations. Instead of leading 20-0 at halftime, the Rams kept it a two-score game.

Rams Leave Too Many Opportunities on the Field

However, it wasn’t just the missed opportunities in the red zone that cost the Rams. On the opening drive, Stafford had Terrance Ferguson wide open down the right sideline on third down, but didn’t see him and instead forced an incompletion over the middle to Tyler Higbee. Also in the first quarter, Jaylen Watson had a ball hit him in the hands deep in Broncos territory. An interception may have resulted in a touchdown or at least more points for the offense. Those are the opportunities you can’t miss against good teams.

Terrance Ferguson was WIDE OPEN for a 43-yard TD but Stafford didn't see him 🙃 pic.twitter.com/lBoG2TxhKD
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 28, 2026

Let’s Talk About Special Teams…Again

How many times are we going to have this same conversation? We’re at the point where Ethan Evans is just not the answer at punter. He’s so inconsistent and that was on display on Sunday night on multiple occasions. On his first punt in the second half, it’s a line drive right down the middle that results in the Broncos returning it to the Rams’ 42. His next punt got downed at the Broncos’ nine-yard line, but after a re-kick due to a penalty, he shanked it to around midfield. Much like with Joshua Karty last season, the Rams need to bring in some competition for Evans. Both those punts, in addition to Emmanuel Forbes’ penalty, played a large role in the Broncos’ comeback.

McVay Lost Control of the Game

Sean McVay seemed to lose control of the game in the third quarter. In a game in which the Rams led or were tied for most of the game, the Rams threw the ball 55 times. After the first half, the run game was largely ineffective. The Rams went from a 61.5 percent rushing success rate to a 30 percent rushing success rate in the second half. Vance Joseph and the Broncos’ defense adjusted well. However, throughout the game, even when the run game was working, the offense lacked balance.

Injuries to Watson and Ferguson Changed the Game

Coming into the game, the Rams were already going to be without Myles Garrett and Puka Nacua. Garrett has spent the last two games on injured reserve, while Nacua manages a groin/hip injury. During the game, the Rams lost Jaylen Watson and Terrance Ferguson and those injuries changed the game completely.

McVay alluded to it during his halftime interview, but the Rams had to shift what they wanted to do offensively because of the injury to Ferguson. The Rams went from operating out of 13 personnel at a 45.7 percent rate in the first half to a 27.8 percent rate in the second half. While the Rams want to play more man coverage on defense, that became problematic when the Rams were relying on Josh Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes instead of Jaylen Watson. Those two injuries resulted in seismic shifts on both sides of the ball.

Sean Payton Finally Gets His Make-Up Call

Back in 2018, Bill Vinovich didn’t call Nickell Robey-Coleman for obvious defensive pass interference in the NFC Championship Game. Nearly 7.5 years later with Sean McVay and Sean Payton on the sideline again, Vinovich called Wallace for defensive pass interference after he presumably ended the game with an interception. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay noted on the broadcast that it shouldn’t have been defensive pass interference. Payton got his make-up call.

NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay did not believe Rams CB Josh Wallace should have been flagged for pass interference, in what may have otherwise been an interception.

The Broncos went on to score what would serve as the game-winning TD. pic.twitter.com/A0YDJ8ZmZl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2026

Rams Needed to Play 60 Minutes and Didn’t

One of the keys to the Rams beating the Broncos was that they needed to play for 60 minutes.Over the last two years, it’s hard to find a team that has played better in the second half and fourth quarter of games than the Broncos. The Rams led 16-0 and before the third quarter was over, it was tied. They kept the Broncos hanging around and paid the price.

Rams Must Respond After Heartbreaking Loss

The Rams currently sit at 1-2 with games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills on deck. For as realistic as it is that the Rams split those, they could just as easily be sitting at 1-4 after Week 5. The Rams need to figure out what kind of team they are going to be. Are they going to be the dominant team that they were expected to be or are they going to roll over after a heartbreaking loss and not live up to their expectations? This loss certainly hurt because it feels like it was stolen in a sense. How they respond is going to say a lot about this team.

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