Blowing big leads has become all too common for the Rams lately - Rams Wire
After grabbing a 16-0 lead at halftime, the Los Angeles Rams appeared to be in complete control against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night. They held Denver to only 67 total yards in the first half, outgaining the Broncos by 206 yards before halftime. Despite leaving points on the board with three field goals, the Rams still looked impressive in the first 30 minutes.
Then in the second half, things changed. The run game wasn't working after Kyren Williams rushed for 69 yards on only nine carries in the first half. After halftime, he only carried it six times for 19 yards, with Blake Corum being even less effective as a runner.
Matthew Stafford threw a pick-six in the fourth quarter and special teams gave up great field position twice in the punt game because of A) poor coverage and B) a costly penalty on Emmanuel Forbes Jr. for not getting back inbounds quickly enough.
The Rams' 16-point lead evaporated in the third quarter, and Los Angeles wound up getting outscored 30-10 in the second half altogether. The end result? A 30-26 loss.
It was the latest collapse by Sean McVay's team, akin to their two disastrous losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks last season. The Rams' inability to hold onto leads in the last two seasons has become a concerning trend, and something that must be fixed.
Sunday night was the third time the Rams have blown a 16-point lead since the start of the 2025 season. Against the Eagles last season, they blew a 19-point third-quarter lead, allowing 26 unanswered points by the Eagles โย including a 66-yard return after Philadelphia's blocked field goal on the final play.
Against the Seahawks in Week 16, the Rams once again blew a 16-point lead after going up 30-14 early in the fourth quarter. They wound up losing, 38-37, consequently giving away the NFC West and No. 1 seed in the conference.
That's three games in one calendar year where the Rams led by at least 16 points and ended up losing. For reference, the Rams have played 12 games since 1979 where they led by at least 16 points and lost. Three of those games have been in the last two seasons. From 2000-2024, they had just four such games, and only one under McVay prior to last season.
A lot went wrong for the Rams on Sunday night. Stafford threw a pick-six, a holding penalty at the 5-yard line forced L.A. to settle for a field goal and the Rams were called for five penalties in the final 2 minutes โ the most for any team since 2000.
Some of those were self-inflicted wounds, but that's the problem. The Rams beat themselves in situations like this. All they had to do was take care of the football, pick up first downs and stop committing penalties.
McVay's teams are usually some of the most disciplined and well-coached in the NFL. This isn't to say the 2026 Rams aren't. But the mistakes made on Sunday night show there's a lot to clean up โ from an execution and coaching perspective.
McVay could've leaned more on Williams, who was dominating in the first half. He could've moved the pocket more when the Broncos were getting pressure on Stafford. McVay isn't the one throwing pick-sixes or making mistakes on punt coverage, but it starts with the head coach.
Hot starts are only so good if you can hold onto a lead, and the Rams have struggled to do so in the last two seasons.
