The Los Angeles Rams were billed as the NFL's super-team Super Bowl favourites entering the 2026 season. So far, things have not gone to plan. Sky Sports NFL's Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss where it is going wrong for Sean McVay's side on the latest episode of Inside the Huddle, after the Rams suffered a shock 18-16 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Their latest setback leaves them 2-4 at the bottom of the NFC West, McVay insisting little will change unless his team find a way to stop "beating ourselves". "Cast your mind back to the summer. It was a dream team," said Reynolds on Inside the Huddle.
"There's no such thing as a dream team in the NFL. "I know we've had them over the years and they've never panned out. They were the strongest of Super Bowl favourites.
"The Rams didn't just lose this game. They looked really out of sorts, like there was a hangover from the one they might have had against Buffalo on Monday night." The Rams made the biggest splash of the offseason this year when they traded for Defensive Player of the Year pass rusher Myles Garrett, who remains sidelined since Week One due to injury. They meanwhile lured Aaron Donald out of retirement to bolster a star-studded team already led by MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford, who took the Rams to the NFC Championship Game last season as they were narrowly-beaten by the eventual champion Seattle Seahawks.
For all their talent, the Rams have seen special teams prove a debilitating factor in recent games, and this week cut kicker Harrison Mevis after his poor start to the year. They replaced him with former New Orleans Saints kicker Blake Grupe, who was hurt on Sunday while trying to tackle Devin Duvernay on a return. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The Rams rank last in special teams through six weeks, their struggles haunting them again Sunday when injury to Grupe forced them to go for two points after their first touchdown, which they failed to convert.
Punter Ethan Evans later had to attempt the extra point, with backup quarterback Stetson Bennett coming in as the holder. "The fact you fire your kicker after the Buffalo game, bring in a new guy, and then he gets hurt because you can't cover a kickoff, right? He's trying to make a tackle on a kickoff, he gets hurt, and now your punter is your kicker," said Reinebold.
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