The losses are mounting. And the coach of the supposedly Super Bowl-favorite Rams is frustrated.
With the kicking unit.
“Not even close to good enough,” a gravelly voiced Sean McVay said Monday night.
With himself.
“I’m sick right now,” he said.
With the Rams’ 37-34 overtime defeat by the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
“It’s been awhile,” McVay said, “since I’ve been this pissed after a game.”
Really?
McVay and the Rams have been getting plenty of practice. See the season-opening debacle against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, or the turnover-filled and penalty-plagued loss to the Denver Broncos.
On Monday, when Buffalo’s Tyler Bass kicked a winning 45-yard field goal, the Rams’ record dropped to 2-3.
McVay was not the only one frustrated. Offensive lineman Alaric Jackson was captured on video punching Buffalo’s Bradley Chubb on the field after the game.
Just as they did two years ago, when the Rams outlasted the Bills for a 44-42 victory, the teams put on a show.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in a 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
But for the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Rams are 2-3 or worse after five games.
In 2022, when the Bills blew out the Rams in the opener at SoFi Stadium, the Rams were 2-3 en route to a 5-12 finish, the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history.
In 2023, the Rams were 2-3 before rallying to finish 10-7. The Detroit Lions eliminated the Rams in the NFC wild-card round. The next season, the Rams started 1-4, finished 10-7 again and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.
Can the Rams rebound again? Not if they don’t fix special teams.
Special teams miscues and penalties once again hampered the Rams in a game that featured three touchdown passes by Matthew Stafford and a career-best 17 catches by Puka Nacua.
Harrison Mevis failed to convert two field-goal attempts, including a potential winning kick in overtime that was blocked by Buffalo linebacker Greg Rousseau.
“It costs us the game tonight,” McVay said of the field-goal and extra-point unit.
The Rams also gave up a 70-yard return on the opening kickoff. And they continued their penalty-filled foibles: They were flagged 11 times for 84 yards, many of the presnap variety that drive McVay crazy.
Monday’s matchup featured the two previous NFL most valuable players, Stafford and Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who won the award in 2024. It was the first game between consecutive MVPs who play in separate conferences since 2015 when Peyton Manning went against Aaron Rodgers.
Stafford completed 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, including two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and another to Nacua, who amassed 138 receiving yards.
Allen, who accounted for six touchdowns in the 44-42 loss to the Rams two years ago, completed 12 of 19 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown as the Bills improved to 4-1.
What was supposed to be a special season for the Rams has turned into a special teams nightmare.
Ray Davis’ 70-yard return on the opening kickoff led to a Bills field goal. On the ensuing series, Mevis missed a 50-yard attempt, and the Bills added another field goal for a 6-0 lead.
In overtime, after Rams linebacker Nate Landman forced a fumble that was recovered by Aaron Donald, Stafford drove the Rams to the Bills’ 30-yard line. On third down, the Bills stopped running back Kyren Williams, leaving the Rams with a fourth-and-five.
McVay summoned Mevis for a potential winning kick of 48 yards.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first half against the Bills on Monday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“I felt like I hit it good,” Mevis said. “That’s all I can tell you.”
After the blocked kick, Allen scrambled and passed the Bills into position for the winning kick.
“I’ll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth,” McVay said, adding, “That’s on me.”
Rams players said they would rally around Mevis.
“We play a tough sport, a tough game that’s heavily viewed,” Landman said. “He’s going to face a lot of criticism, but that’s our brother. … We’ll love him up, and he’ll move on. He’ll make some kicks for us to win us a game in the future.”
Rams linebacker Nate Landman punches the ball out of Bills running back James Cook III’s arms during the third quarter.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams’ next five games are against mostly struggling opponents: the Arizona Cardinals (1-4), at the Las Vegas Raiders (3-2), the Chargers (0-5), at the Washington Commanders (1-3-1) and at the Cardinals before a Thanksgiving eve game against the Green Bay Packers (3-2) at SoFi Stadium.
By that time, the Rams might have the active roster that made them such a heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
Edge rusher Myles Garrett is not expected to be activated from injured reserve this week, but he will be at some point. Tight end Terrance Ferguson also could return from IR in a few weeks, and reserve offensive linemen Justin Dedich and Keagen Trost also might be available.
But even that seemingly easier string of opponents and the prospects of a seemingly Super Bowl-ready roster won’t matter if the Rams don’t fix their mistakes.
And they have a short week to prepare for their next game.
“It’s going to be an opportunity for us to respond,” Nacua said, “and really look ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘What is our identity going to be?’”
Before it’s too late.
