It’s hard to take the Rams seriously when their offense stinksBy Neil Greenberg October 3 at 10:01 AM
The NFC West wasn’t supposed to be this way. Sure, the Seattle Seahawks were expected to be among the division leaders — perhaps even among the best in the NFL — but they were supposed to fight it out with the Arizona Cardinals, not the Los Angeles Rams.
But the Rams are demanding to be be taken seriously, while the Cardinals struggle to maintain relevance.
Sunday was just the latest surprise in a league known for its parity. The Rams were 10-point underdogs against Arizona, and ESPN’s Football Power Index had the Cardinals as the most likely to win their Week 4 matchup (83 percent win probability). Instead, Los Angeles forced five turnovers and Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer left the game with a head injury en route to a 17-13 Rams victory on the road. Los Angeles is now 3-1 for the first time since 2006 and has a share of the NFC West division lead.
“Once you’re 3-1, people start to view you as an actual winning team,” linebacker Mark Barron told reporters after the game. “I think we’re starting to put ourselves in that light.”
The defense is certainly doing its part. It allows 1.47 points per drive, and the Rams have the No. 2 defense, behind Seattle, per Pro Football Focus. Football Outsiders ranks the Rams’ defense 12th in DVOA behind its ability to force a three-and-out on 31.4 percent of opposing drives, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
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