The Los Angeles Rams somehow kept their season alive in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL Season, earning a tough and gritty win against the rival 49ers. Gritty feels like the perfect word to sum up this win for the LA Rams, which is going to keep their season alive. The hope here is that the team only gets healthier as the weeks progress and as some players return from injury.
I truly did not expect LA to be able to win this won, as these "home games" against the 49ers truly feel like away games, but I guess it's never smart to doubt Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay, one of the best quarterback/head coach duos in the entire NFL.
Running back Kyren Williams ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and Matthew Stafford threw for 221 yards and one score. LA out-scored the 49ers by 10 points in the second half, and their late-game heroics proved to be enough. The Rams will perhaps have an easier time next week when they travel to Chicago to play Caleb Williams and the Bears, so don't look now, but LA could find themselves at 2-2 approaching a pretty crucial Week 5 game against the Green Bay Packers.
But this game really encapsulated the career of Matthew Stafford, doesn't it? It was a hard-fought, gritty win. The Rams are clearly the most injured team in football, but sometimes teams can fight through that. Stafford is now in his age-36 season in the NFL and could be entering the final couple years of his career before he hits Father Time.
The Rams really impressed me in Week 3. They were staring down an 0-3 start, which is a death sentence in the NFL, but by the skin of their teeth were able to win. Now yes, the 49ers were without several key contributors, but no one can compete with how banged-up LA is.
I was looking at this Rams' team coming into the 2024 NFL Season as being one of the best in football, but the amount of injuries they have could keep them from making the postseason. It does feel like an unfortunate repeat of the injury-plagued 2022 season.
But this Week 3 win in the final minutes might paint a more encouraging picture for the LA Rams as the season goes on. If this is just how clutch the team can be, imagine how good they can be when they do hopefully get healthy...?