Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 182 yards and five touchdowns against the Jaguars on Sunday. / G Fiume/Getty Images
Once again, the NFL got going early. Well, the Rams did. The Jaguars, not so much.
On Sunday morning in London, Los Angeles throttled host Jacksonville, winning 35–7, improving its record to 5–2 and first place in the NFC West. Meanwhile, the Jaguars dropped their second straight, falling to 4–3 entering their bye week.
The early slate is smaller than usual, with only six games, but there are plenty of storylines. For starters, Mike Vrabel returns to Nashville to visit his old team, with the Patriots taking on the Mike McCoy-led Titans. In Kansas City, the Chiefs will welcome back Rashee Rice after a six-game suspension to take on the two-win Raiders, who are without Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers.
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In the late window, the Commanders and Cowboys renew their rivalry for the 66th consecutive season in a battle for second place in the NFC East. Finally, the Colts head to SoFi Stadium for a date with the Chargers in a battle of two division leaders.
But we start with the Rams, who have a strong case as the league’s best team.
The conversation around this year’s parity is legitimate, with no unbeaten teams remaining and few teams playing quality football every week. But if the Rams hadn’t fallen apart on special teams twice this season, they might be seen as the clear-cut favorite.
In Week 3 on the road against the Eagles, Los Angeles had a 26–7 lead and could have won the game by hitting one of two fourth-quarter field goals. Instead, Joshua Karty had both attempts blocked, including one on the game’s final play in a meltdown defeat to Philadelphia.
Two weeks later, the Rams welcomed in the injury-ravaged 49ers on Thursday night, losing on a missed extra point and field goal, albeit the latter being from 53 yards. At 71.4% for the season entering Week 7, the Rams have the worst field goal success rate in the league alongside the Falcons.
Los Angeles is atop the NFC West and only a half-game back of the Buccaneers for the conference’s top mark. Matthew Stafford entered Sunday leading the NFL with 1,684 passing yards while ranking fourth with 12 touchdown passes. He lit up Jacksonville for 182 yards and five scores, putting him firmly in the MVP conversation with Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes.
The Rams could easily be 7–0, something to consider as the year rolls on.
The Jaguars are 4–3 and still firmly in the AFC playoff picture, but things are trending sharply in the wrong direction.
Jacksonville lost last weekend to the Seahawks before being blown out 35–7 by the Rams at Wembley Stadium in London. For the second consecutive game, the Jaguars took double-digit penalties, giving themselves almost no chance to win against a quality NFC West opponent.
Jacksonville’s problems were on full display against the Chiefs in Week 5, when Kansas City rolled up 476 yards and 28 points. Yet the Jaguars found a way to win, thanks to 13 penalties on the Chiefs, along with a Devin Lloyd 99-yard pick-six. While Liam Coen’s team deserves credit for winning, relying on more than a dozen flags and a 99-yard defensive score isn’t a repeatable recipe.
Over the first four weeks of the season, Jacksonville led the league with 13 takeaways. As a result, the defense allowed 18 points per game. Since then, the Jaguars have surrendered 24 points over the past three games, with only one total takeaway.
If the takeaways dry up, and the Jaguars don’t get elite play from Trevor Lawrence (who has nine touchdown passes against five interceptions thus far), the back half of the year could be ugly.
On Thursday night, the Steelers could have gained a stranglehold on the AFC North. Instead, Pittsburgh lost 33–31 to the Bengals and, in the process, exposed why they might be frauds.
The Steelers have allowed 374.7 yards per game, 28th in the NFL coming into Sunday. The figure is bad enough, but it is made even worse when you factor in Pittsburgh’s opposing quarterbacks, including Justin Fields, Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel.
Against Cincinnati, a team on a four-game losing streak before beating the Steelers, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had no answers for Flacco & Co. Ja’Marr Chase posted a career-high 16 receptions on 23 targets, many coming against corner Jalen Ramsey. The Bengals also ran for 142 yards on 6.2 yards per carry. This is from an offense that ranks 29th with 3.7 YPC even with that explosion.
Pittsburgh has other problems, including an offense that has been outgained in five of six games, while Aaron Rodgers ranks 34th of 34 qualifying quarterbacks with 3.7 completed air yards per completion. But if the defense can’t start playing well beyond the pass rush of Nick Herbig and T.J. Watt (8.5 sacks and 11 QB hits between them), the Steelers will struggle to become a true contender.