Rams Coaches Identify Three Biggest Challenges Against Broncos

The Los Angeles Rams are set to play the Denver Broncos in Week 3 of the 2026 season. After a disappointing Week 1 performance, the Rams bounced back in a big way with a 28-6 win over the New York Giants. With the Denver Broncos on deck for Week 3, the Rams will face a much bigger test.

Like the Rams, the Broncos are also coming off of a season in which they made it to Conference Championship Sunday, only just falling short. The Broncos didn’t play well in Week 1, but after making some second-half adjustments, they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and played much better defensively in their 20-13 win.

Throughout the week, the Rams’ coaching staff talked about some of the challenges the Broncos will present on each side of the ball.

Rams Face a Different Challenge Against Vance Joseph

From 2019 to 2022, Vance Joseph spent four years in the NFC West as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator. During that time, the Rams went 7-2 against the Cardinals as the offense averaged 26.9 points per game and scored 30 or more points in five of those games. However, since joining the Broncos as the defensive coordinator, he’s led one of the best units in the NFL.

“It's evolved. He does a great job,” said head coach Sean McVay. “He'll mix some different personnel groupings. He's always been a pain in a positive way, out of respect, to go against. You can see he has a real good understanding. I think good coaches put their players in situations to accentuate their skill sets. That's what's on display all over the tape.”

McVay has not coached against Joseph since he joined the Broncos as the defensive coordinator. The Rams did beat the Broncos in 2018 when Joseph was the head coach. When the Rams last beat the Broncos in 2022, Joseph was still with the Cardinals.It should be a good challenge for a Rams offense that could be without wide receiver Puka Nacua. The Rams will likely lean into 13 personnel once again and look to get Terrance Ferguson involved in the offense.

Bo Nix's Ability to Extend Plays Presents a Challenge

A serious argument can be made that had Bo Nix not gotten injured at the end of the Broncos’ AFC Divisional win against the Buffalo Bills, they would have made the Super Bowl. For as much criticism as Nix gets, he does a nice job operating Sean Payton’s offense the way Payton wants and managing the game. While Nix might get away with more because of the situation around him, when the Broncos need him to play well, he typically delivers.

Nix may be coming off of an ankle injury, but that hasn’t hurt his movement too much. However, after averaging over four yards per attempt in his previous two seasons, Nix only has eight carries for eight yards this year. The Rams’ defense will certainly still account for his mobility and ability to make plays outside the pocket.

“He's the ultimate competitor to me,” said defensive coordinator Chris Shula. “He's tough and he's gritty. He's going to fight for every single yard. He's going to make plays off-schedule…I'm really impressed with him, especially [with him] starting to hit his stride going into his third year.”

The Rams have struggled at times against mobile quarterbacks in the past. The Broncos did a better job getting Nix on the move last week and that seemed to allow him to get into a rhythm. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Broncos do that again on Sunday, especially as the Rams rely on inexperienced edge players in Josaiah Stewart across from Byron Young.

Broncos Pass Rush Presents Major Test for Rams

Over the past few seasons, it’s been no secret that the Broncos have one of the better pass rushes in the NFL. Nik Bonitto has developed into one of the premier pass rushers off the edge along with Zach Allen and Jonah Ellis. They have a higher pressure rate through two weeks than last season, and that’s after losing John Franklin-Myers in free agency. ’

“It's a real one. Have a lot of respect for those guys and how they get after the passer. It's evident on tape,” said offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. “They have multiple guys that can challenge you. They present a number of exotic looks that you have to be able to work through. You have to be able to have great communication…They’ve done a good job getting after the quarterback. We've got to do a great job on our end of being on the same page.”

The Rams did a good job protecting Stafford last week against the Giants’ talented pass rush. Stafford was only pressured on 15.3 percent of his dropbacks. However, after the Week 1 loss, Stafford and McVay both mentioned how the offense struggled with communication. They will be playing in a tough environment on Sunday night and the offense will need to be on the same page. If they aren’t, the Broncos have the talent to make them pay for it.

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