There will never be a week in the regular season where teams move up and down power rankings more than Week 1. That’s especially true for the Los Angeles Rams, who came into the season with low expectations, being ranked near the bottom of ever poll.
After the Rams beat the Seahawks, 30-13, in the season opener on Sunday, they’ve already begun to climb the rankings. At Touchdown Wire, the Rams went from No. 29 to No. 21 in the blink of an eye, jumping eight spots ahead of Week 2 against the 49ers.
Matthew Stafford’s arm looked fine, and Puka Nacua shined without Cooper Kupp being in the lineup. Aaron Donald was disruptive on defense- what else is new? Don’t ask me to name anymore players on that roster, though, because it will be a chore, to say the least. Tutu Atwell? He was there, he had a nice game. A backup running back named *checks notes* *checks notes again* Kyren Williams scored two touchdowns. Sure, why not?
It was only one game, but the Rams sure looked like the better team than Seattle, which fell from No. 12 to 19 in the latest rankings. The real test will come next Sunday when they face the top-ranked 49ers, who crushed the Steelers in the season opener, 30-7.
After that, the Rams will take on the seventh-ranked Bengals on Monday Night Football, another massive test for this unproven Los Angeles team.
Like the Rams, the season is young, but this was about as good a start as they could’ve hoped for after the offseason they went through.