LA Rams left asking themselves after OT loss 'Ain't that tough enough?'

The LA Rams were in a boxing match with one hand tied behind their back. You see, the Rams were on the road facing the Detroit Lions, and played the game without either starting offensive tackle. LT Alaric Jackson, fighting through an ankle injury, had been suspended for the first two games of the season. And RT Rob Havenstein, also fighting through an ankle injury, was unable to get well enough to suit up for the game.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg for the Rams roster.

But we we have more on injured players soon enough. For now, I think it's justified to talk about the guys who stepped up in the heat of battle and filled in despite their presence as second or third stringers on the Rams roster.

You can tell a lot about a team, not by the way they fight when everything is going their way, but how they manage to compete when the flood gates open. In Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, adversity did not pull any punches. But even starting quarterback Matthew Stafford realized that he was getting the best efforts out of everyone around him.

And he made it a point to recognize that fact in his post-game presser:

So how well did the guys play in the game? The defense was outstanding, as the Rams secondary held QB Jared Goff to just 217 passing yards, and the team did manage to get a bit of revenge after allowing a touchdown pass by getting an interception as well.

At the end of regulation play, the score was tied 20-20. But the Rams left points on the scoreboard. The Rams, 0-3 in the Red Zone in the NFL Playoffs against the Lions, could only convert two of five Red Zone appearances in this one. On one occasion, Matthew Stafford threw an interception that, had the team simply kicked a field goal there, would have been the margin of victory.

But this was not a 'spanking,' by any means. The Rams entered Week 1 wounded pretty noticeably, and limped out of Ford Field in much worse condition. But, at some point in the season, players will heal and return. When that happens, the team appears to be set to win some football games.

Hopefully injured players will be back sooner rather than later.