How Week 1 impacted the Los Angeles Rams

You have plenty of places you can go to read game recaps. This is not one of those places. The following summaries are not game recaps and will attempt to only contain information that in some way pertains to the Los Angeles Rams. If you think I overlooked anything, add it in the comments.

Vikings 23, Packers 7

Though the Rams are 0-1, so is Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback was sacked four times and had one interception in a convincing road loss in Minnesota. Though Kirk Cousins played well enough, the stars were Justin Jeffersin (9/184/2) and the defense forcing an early season appearance for Jordan Love.

Former Ram Johnny Mundt had three catches for 17 yards. It’s only one game, but it is also one of the top-three games that the Vikings must have had circled on the schedule.

Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21

Compared to every other quarterback on Sunday, the game seems to come so easy to Patrick Mahomes. He finished with 360 yards and five touchdowns, including six catches for 79 yards to new number one receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. There won’t be a 7-0 start for the Cardinals this season.

Bears 19, 49ers 10

I do not necessarily agree with people who judged Trey Lance prior to the start of the season—optimistically or negatively—but the skeptics certainly had their day in Week 1. Forget the weather conditions: Both Lance and Justin Fields appear out-matched by NFL competition. Lance has a much more obvious season and path to being a long-term starter than Fields, but he also made some of the worst passes and decisions of the day. Lance finished 13/28 for 164 yards and an interception, rushing 13 times for 54 yards. The NFC West is still looking for its first win and it would be surprising if that comes from the Seahawks against the Broncos on Monday Night Football.

Samson Ebukam had one sack for the 49ers.

Ravens 24, Jets 9

Former Rams CB Marcus Peter remains out with an injury. John Franklin-Myers had two tackles for the Jets. Perhaps Lamar Jackson, who did finish with three touchdown passes, will compete for MVP again this season.

Steelers 23, Bengals 20 (OT)

This is the team that just lost to the Rams in the Super Bowl: Joe Burrow was sacked seven times and intercepted four times, meaning that the two Super Bowl quarterbacks combined for 14 sacks and seven interceptions in Week 1. Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t changed one bit, catching 10 passes for 129 yards. Aaron Donald’s path towards another DPOY award got some news too, as T.J. Watt appears to have suffered a torn pectoral muscle unfortunately.

Colts 20, Texans 20 (OT)

Former Rams WR Brandin Cook keeps defying the odds by being productive regardless of circumstances, as he had seven catches for 82 yards.

Dolphins 20, Patriots 7

Good? Bad? I just know that the Patriots are boring.

Commanders 28, Jaguars 22

I picked Washington to win the NFC East before the season and that prediction had its ups and downs on Sunday: The important part is that Washington won the game. The negatives for the Commanders is that they still nearly lost to Jacksonville and Wentz was Wentz-like in throwing four touchdowns but also two interceptions.

Browns 26, Panthers 24

Former Rams and Browns offensive lineman Austin Corbett made his debut for Carolina. Safety John Johnson led Cleveland with seven tackles and he also shared in a sack. Johnny Hekker had five punts for 250 yards for the Panthers with a long of 61. Carolina could be one of a handful of NFC teams vying for Bryce Young or one of the other top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft. The others seem to be the Seahawks, Falcons, Lions, and Giants for the time being.

Giants 21, Titans 20

To their credit, the Giants were one of the only bad teams to not help their cause for a high draft pick. Is it possible they won’t be bad? The debut of former Bills OC Brian Daboll as head coach featured a 17/21 performance by Daniel Jones with two touchdowns but another fumble lost. The Rams do not play the Giants in the regular season.

Robert Woods was targeted two times, catching one pass for 13 yards. That’s one more yard than Allen Robinson. Start panicking. The Rams will get a sixth round pick from Tennessee next year because of that trade.

Eagles 38, Lions 35

GM Brad Holmes has the Lions trying to do things “the Rams way” and even in defeat, there were signs of improvement for Detroit. For one, the team didn’t score 35 points last year until the final game of the season. Jared Goff continues to struggle for the most part, but did finish 21/37 for 215 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, one sack, one fumble. Josh Reynolds had a 28-yard catch. Michael Brockers was named a captain, but didn’t record any stats on Sunday.

Many have the Eagles as a sleeper in the NFC. Was Week 1 an indication of that as a reality or is the defense not going to be as stout as expected?

Saints 27, Falcons 26

I took a risk by picking the Saints to win the NFC South. That was a shaky proposition early with Jameis Winston struggling. But he rebounded to finish 23/34 for 269 yards and 2 TD, getting sacked four times, and the Saints barely start 1-0.

Would Odell Beckham Jr. be tempted to sign with the Saints if they keep winning?

The Rams face the Falcons in Week 2 and Atlanta played better than offseason expectations.

Chargers 24, Raiders 19

This is more of the start that Brandon Staley hoped for and L.A.’s defense picked off Derek Carr three times, with Khalil Mack sacking his former teammate three times. Repeat of what I said earlier: Sebastian Joseph-Day is a team captain but he didn’t record any stats. Obo Ogbonnia had one tackle. The Rams do not face these teams until late in the season.

Bucs 19, Cowboys 3

The Rams face the Cowboys in Week 5 and the Bucs in Week 9. Unsurprisingly, Tampa Bay played a lot better in Week 1. Chris Godwin left with a hamstring injury and the Bucs having one of the oldest rosters in the league could play into their ability to play a high level for the entire season. The Cowboys lost a lot of talent. That was apparent on Sunday night.

Dak Prescott will be out “a while” meaning that Cooper Rush is the new starting QB.

The Seahawks face the Broncos on Monday night.