Random Ramsdom: Rams are trending to be worst defending Super Bowl champs ever

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 12/5/22

Matthew Stafford’s scary spine injury update will have Rams fans frightened (clutchpoints)

“Matthew Stafford’s injury is worse than initially feared. Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay confirmed as much after their latest loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams put their star QB on the injured reserve recently, saying that he is dealing with a neck issue. According to McVay, however, Stafford actually has a spinal cord contusion. The LA tactician added that there’s a “good chance” Stafford will be shut down for the rest of the season.

Players on the injured reserve are eligible to return to their respective teams after four games. While the Rams have five matches left, it doesn’t make much sense for Stafford to play anyway. Not to mention that it’s already a lost season for the team with their playoff hopes virtually gone.

Matthew Stafford entered concussion protocols twice in November, and there have been a lot of fears about his condition. Apparently, though, it was the spine issue that forced him to miss several games.”

Geno Smith, Seahawks Outlast Depleted Rams in 27-23 Thriller (fannation/si)

“Throwing for a career-high 367 yards, Smith remained his usual efficient self completing 71 percent of his passes and threw a trio of touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett, Noah Fant, and DK Metcalf. Sparking the defense, cornerback Tariq Woolen recorded his sixth interception of the season and Uchenna Nwosu tallied two sacks in a hard-fought road victory.

Here are five quick takeaways from an unexpected thriller at SoFi Stadium:

1. Putting a bow on a fantastic outing, Smith delivered in the clutch with his first game-winning touchdown drive as a Seahawk.

Even without Aaron Donald or Terrell Lewis active, the Rams made life challenging for Smith all afternoon, racking up three sacks and four quarterback hits in the first half alone. The veteran could be seen barking at rookie running back Ken Walker III on the sideline after a missed blitz pickup on the Fox telecast and the front line as a whole struggled to keep him clean. Those issues continued in the second half when Smith got blasted on Seattle’s opening drive of the third quarter by Michael Hoecht, who exploded off the right side and hit him as he reared back to throw, leading to a lost fumble that thwarted a promising drive.”

Rams set embarrassing record with crushing loss to Seahawks (clutchpoints)

“Making matters even worse, they are now poised to have the worst record in a season after coming off a title win. They dropped to 3-9 on the campaign, which is already the worst 12-game start for any champion in NFL history.

They are also the first team since the 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish with a losing record in the season that comes after their Super Bowl victory. At that time, the Bucs finished 7-9 on the campaign.

Of course it’s hard to blame the Rams fully. While they didn’t have the best start as well and struggled early on, the injuries to their key players didn’t help. Matthew Stafford is dealing with a neck injury, while wide receivers Cooper Kupp (ankle) and Allen Robinson (foot) have both been ruled out for the year due to their respective injuries.

It seems unlikely for the Rams to make the playoffs now, so they might want to shift their focus on getting their players healthy in preparation for the 2023 season. If they can get their roster back to 100 percent, it’s not hard to see them bouncing back and competing for the title once again.”

NFL Week 13 grades: Eagles get an ‘A+’ for destroying Titans, Giants and Commanders get same mark for tie (cbssports)

“With a strong slate of games in Week 13, things were expected to get crazy and that’s exactly what happened.

In New York, the Commanders and Giants gave us the second tie of the NFL season, marking the first time since 2018 that we’ve seen two ties happen in the same year. In a twist, this was the Giants’ first tie since 1997 when they also tied Washington. For the Commanders, this was their first tie since the London game against the Bengals in 2016.

In Houston, Deshaun Watson returned to the field for the first time in 700 days and recorded possibly the most bizarre win of his career. Although the Browns handily won 27-14, they didn’t score a single offensive touchdown, giving them the most points in a game by a team without an offensive TD since 1999.

So what kind of grade do you get when your team doesn’t score an offensive touchdown? Let’s get to the Week 13 grades and find out. If you’re looking for a deeper dive on the Bills’ win over the Patriots that was played Thursday, be sure to click here.”

NFL Week 13 Fantasy Football Recap: Immediate takeaways from Sunday’s games (pff)

“• A.J. Brown wins his revenge game: Brown scored twice on deep touchdowns and gained over 100 receiving yards to beat his former team in the Titans.

• D’Andre Swift is finally back: Swift saw his most carries since Week 1 and his most receiving yards of the season, and he scored a touchdown in the Lions’ decisive victory.

• Drake London shows a spark: The eighth overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft started his career with back-to-back games of over 70 yards, followed by 10 straight games below 60. He put up a career-high 95 yards against the Steelers in Week 13.

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2022.”