He might have been holding his breath at the Rams’ facility on Monday, but head coach Sean McVay got some good news after speaking with VP of sports medicine Reggie Scott after Sunday’s 27-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
“By the grace of god we came out fairly clean,” McVay joked. “That’s a very positive thing where we can now start to establish somewhat of a continuity with the same groups being able to work together two weeks in a row.”
The first two morning afters for the Rams (1-2) this season were full of devastating news. Receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua; offensive linemen Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson and Joe Noteboom; and safety John Johnson III all were staring at lengthy absences one or two games into the year.
Those players still are sidelined, but as they prepare for next weekend’s road game against the Chicago Bears (1-2), the Rams have some consistency to hang their hat on entering practice.
After three different arrangements in as many weeks, the Rams will start the same five offensive linemen in Chicago as they did against the 49ers. And after two straight weeks of sorting through the receiving room, adjusting roles and snap counts, quarterback Matthew Stafford’s targets will be preparing for the same work load for the second consecutive game.
“We can start to develop some continuity,” McVay said. “If you were to say what’s been the most frustrating thing – really the second-most, first thing is for the players – the second thing is that, we talk about a process, there hasn’t been a process when we can’t work together. … So I’m very glad we came out of this clean, and now I want to see us continue to improve so that we can play better quality football.”
That goes for the Rams’ defense as well.
Last week, linebacker Troy Reeder spoke about how the unit was discovering how to play with each other on the fly with so many new faces and young players asked to play bigger roles in 2024. That was evident through a couple of uneven performances to start the season.
But despite some hiccups and another slow start, the Rams’ defense came through in key moments on Sunday to help secure the win. Whether it was a third-down run stuff by Reeder to hold the 49ers to a field goal in the fourth quarter or the secondary giving Brock Purdy nowhere to pass late in the game, there was something for the unit to build off of and move forward with.
“OTAs, training camp, you really get to know the guys on a personal level, earn that trust. But then the games come and it’s different. It’s kind of a different beast,” linebacker Christian Rozeboom said. “It’s just seeing the successes, kind of the practice and the preparation that we’re going through, kind of seeing the fruits of our labor a little bit. I think it just builds confidence as a whole.”
Smith to continue to return punts
After his 38-yard punt return to set up Sunday’s game-winning field goal, receiver Xavier Smith will continue to return punts for the Rams, McVay said on Monday.
“He’s really put a lot of work in,” McVay said. “It’s a cool reflection of the work paying off, him continuing to just stay steady and then being able to have the opportunity to deliver in an important moment for the team. So, he will be the punt returner moving forward.”
Smith was a practice squad call up this week after the undrafted free agent spent over a year waiting for the opportunity to make his NFL debut. But he still kept working to be ready for that moment.
“Even not being up for a game, he’s in there asking about punter keys, he’s asking about what types of punts we’re getting,” Rozeboom said. “Just seeing his success after being on practice squad for a year and then coming in and getting his opportunity and how he made the most of it, it’s pretty cool.”
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