Rams Look to Finish Off Drives 

(News4usonline.com) – Greatness requires patience. Long before any team can uncork bottles of champagne in celebration of winning the next Super Bowl there is a thing called the journey they must go through. 

Like life, the journey can be complicated. 

Sometimes the journey is full of high moments. There will also be some low moments as well. The Los Angeles Rams experienced both during their Sunday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos. 

The high for the Rams was jumping all over Denver and climbing to a lead that appeared to be too much for the Broncos to overcome. The low tide for Los Angeles was self-inflicted wounds that allowed Denver to rally for a 30-26 win to stun the Rams.

In a Zoom call with reporters, Rams head coach Sean McVay talked about his team being tested and fighting through tough moments.  

“I think you [have to] understand that tough times don’t last, tough people do,” McVay said. “The only real growth occurs through some of these adverse moments and you certainly don’t want it. 

“I know this, we’ve talked a lot about it, and this is when you get a chance to lean in. I love the resiliency of this group. I like what I’ve seen so far. We certainly have gotten tested and had a bunch of different unique things thrown at us in these first few weeks,” he added.  

Looking at the final numbers from the game between the Rams and Broncos, there was one clear-cut winner. The Rams won out against the Broncos in just about every offensive category but the scoreboard. 

The Rams had a decisive edge over the Broncos passing and running the football, outgaining Denver through the air (366 yards net) and on the ground (116-78). 

When it came down to total yards (LA 482 yards; Denver 257 yards ), first downs (LA 26; Denver 20) and yards per play (LA 5.9 yards; Denver 4.3 yards), the Rams outclassed their AFC counterparts by a wide margin.  

The first half in particular reflected the Rams statistical dominance as they rolled out to a 16-0 lead after two quarters of play. The Rams accumulated 273 yards in total offense, picked up 17 first downs compared to the five Denver earned, and was making good on converting third down attempts (55 percent). 

The key to LA’s success of moving the ball up and down the field on the Broncos was the stellar play of the offensive line. The Rams rushed for nearly 100 yards (87) through the first two quarters as quarterback Matthew Stafford closed in on 200 yards (190) passing. 

McVay liked what he saw from his offensive line in that first half.    

“I thought we really had good balance,” McVay said during a Zoom call with reporters.  “We had a couple drives that stalled where we settled for field goals that I thought we had some penalties. The delay can’t happen. The holding was really key and critical on the third-and-two after we had gotten the conversion that prevented us from potentially getting touchdowns, but I thought they were really good. I thought they strained.”

Despite playing well enough to take a sizable lead into the locker room, the one hiccup the Rams could not get over was putting more points on the scoreboard. Los Angeles had four scoring drives in the first half. 

Only one scoring drive resulted in paydirt in the form of the Rams finding the endzone. The other three scoring drives were closed out by field goals made by kicker Harrison Mevis. 

When asked if he viewed those possessions as “learning opportunities from not finishing a drive,” McVay was emphatic in his reply.  

“Absolutely, because I think when you’re looking at the things that we would do to try to be able to change the outcomes of those, are we solution-oriented and are these things that we’re capable of executing? And the answer is yes,” McVay remarked. “You’re not taking away any credit that’s deserved from Denver. It’s a great defense. I thought there were some opportunities where we did some uncharacteristic things.”  

Lead Photo or Cover Art: Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams gets yards after the catch in a 30-26 defeat to the Denver Broncos during a Sunday Night Football game on Sept. 27, 2026. Photo Credit: Los Angeles Rams