The crescendo rises and Rams it's probably best to ignore it.
There's so much that can happen every week in the NFL – check it out Philadelphia's loss to Dallas — that the Rams can't feel comfortable, even with the way they're playing.
In the last five games, culminating in their 27-point rout of Tampa Bay On Sunday night, the Rams outscored their opponents 63-3 in the first quarter.
Matthew Stafford threw 27 touchdown passes without an interception.
In four games of this six-game winning streak, the Rams defense allowed 10 points or fewer.
-
Share via
Gary Klein breaks down what went down for the Rams in their 34-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sophie Stadium on Sunday night.
But it's too early for anyone in the organization to think about Santa Clara in February. The Rams need to play with blinders on. Yes, they've secured first place in the NFC for now, but they have a one-game lead over the Eagles, who beat them earlier this season, and therefore have the tiebreaker. There's no wiggle room.
The game plan is much different than in 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl on their home field. They went 0–3 in November games that season.
It's more like 2018. Sean McVaySeason 2, when was the last game before Thanksgiving instant classic at the ColosseumJared Goff and the Rams beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 54-51.
We can't ignore the fact that we're seeing something special in Stafford, who takes the shot, scans the field and delivers the laser with remarkable reliability. It processes data at the speed of artificial intelligence.
It was 10 years ago at Levi's Stadium that Denver's Peyton Manning, the starting quarterback for his second team, won his second Super Bowl ring and decided to retire.
Could it be Stafford? Second franchise. Possibility of a second ring. On the other hand, Manning's body was deteriorating and he was not at his peak. These Broncos owned the ball and had great defense.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford warms up before a 34-7 win over the Buccaneers at Sophie Stadium on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
At this point, Stafford is playing as well as anyone who has ever played the position. He looks nothing like the 37-year-old who missed training camp with back problems.
His 27-touchdown streak without a pick is, according to Elias, the longest such streak of any player since it was first recorded play-by-play in 1978.
“It's hard to wrap your head around the fact that you can throw that hard and put the ball in the end zone,” said Rams receiver Davante Adams, who has 12 touchdown receptions this season. “Most quarterbacks can't throw 27 passes without picking.”
Stafford is a leading MVP candidate and this season could earn him a bronze medal in Canton.
As for the poetry of him walking away from the biggest stage the way Manning did, it's all fantasy football right now, especially with more than a quarter left in the regular season.
(A little more premature speculation: It's entirely possible that the Rams and New England Patriots could meet in the Super Bowl for a third time.)
What is undeniable is that the Rams are steadily strengthening their position in the Los Angeles market. On Sunday night, they set their regular-season attendance record with 75,545 tickets, surpassing the mark set a week earlier at home against Seattle.
Here's what the Rams owner says Stan Kroenke talked about when he brought the team back in 2016 and when he built Sophie Stadium with the idea of making the nearly 300-acre campus a center of gravity on the West Coast.
It's not only home to the Rams and Chargersbut it is an important role the stadium will play in the World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and will host a second Super Cup in early 2027. No matter how you feel about UCLA is trying to get out about the Rose Bowl deal, there's a reason the school noticed SoFi.
Kroenke always told his development team that underestimating Los Angeles would be a huge mistake, that the opportunities here were immeasurable.
“Sometimes when you’re a developer, I think you have to be extremely optimistic,” Kroenke told the Los Angeles Times. “You're faced with so many problems… You saw in the NFL how difficult it was. So you had to be optimistic.
“Then you can have a night like tonight, and it’s just amazing.”
Rams cornerback Kobe Turner reacts during player introductions before Sunday's game against the Buccaneers at Sophie Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The stadium was loud and pitch blue, with only a smattering of Tampa Bay fans in attendance. This is progress.
The danger for the Rams is now letting their guard down. Next weekend they'll head across the country to play Carolina, a team that recently won four of five, including a loss to Green Bay.
At the postgame press conference, guard Kobe Durant was asked how it felt to finish first in the conference.
“I didn’t know that,” he said, and there was pleasant surprise in his voice. “I can't keep up with this.”
Smart answer.
