As LA Rams brace for Week 2, new questions multiply

A Week 1 win for the LA Rams certainly answered one persistent question hanging over the heads of the team since settling for a 5-12 record in the 2022 NFL season. Namely, are the LA Rams inadvertently tanking this season to have a shot at the number one pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?

While the answer to that question is a resounding no, the LA Rams have a proliferation of questions that cannot and or will not be answered any time soon. In fact, the Rams sudden and surprising success in Week 1 may have created more questions than the ones that were answered.

Nothing that the LA Rams did in Week 1 fit any of the narratives leading up to that season opener. This was supposed to be a season in which the Rams defense struggled to appear competitive. And yet, this defense absolutely demolished the Seattle Seahawks offense, allowing just 12 yards throughout the entire second half. This was supposed to be a season in which the LA Rams pass rush would simply not show up, and yet the Rams applied pressure on Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith all afternoon.

This was supposed to be an offense that, without WR Cooper Kupp, would have to lean heavily into the running game. And yet, by the final whistle, the Rams had only rushed for 92 yards. The Rams offensive line was supposed to struggle, and yet Matthew Stafford remained clean in the pocket all day, throwing for an impressive 334 yards passing.

Better yet, the LA Rams offense had not one, but two receivers crack the monumental 100+ receiving yards on the day: Rookie WR Puka Nacua (119 yards), and third-year veteran WR Tutu Atwell (119 yards). Good? Absolutely. But perhaps better yet is how the LA Rams array of rookies starting in Week 1 consistently exceeded expectations.