J.B. Long@JB_Long
“I can’t say enough about the sudden change defensive stop to keep it a one-score game (after the fumble).”
-Sean McVay on @ESPNLosAngeles with us postgame

LOS ANGELES RAMS

QB Stetson Bennett IV (emergency 3rd QB)

TE Terrance Ferguson

OL Beaux Limmer

OL D.J. Humphries

DE Desjuan Johnson

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

OG Matt Goncalves (toe)

DT Eric Johnson II

QB Riley Leonard (emergency 3rd QB)

TE Will Mallory

CB Kenny Moore II (achilles)

WR Alec Pierce (concussion)

OT Luke Tenuta

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Sean McVay on whether Davante Adams’ hamstring soreness will affect his snap count Sunday: “I don’t know about that. You might monitor some things, but if I told him that, I think he would say, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that.’ He’s in good spirits. He’s been engaged in the walkthroughs. He’s doing everything that he can to be physically and mentally ready to go and that’s why he’s a total stud. I’m excited about that. We’ll see how the game goes. Ultimately, we have be able to do what we think is best for Davante and for our team. Those things go hand in hand for us. If that changes any of the snap count, that’s not something that we’re expecting but we’ll see.”

Nuthin new here but it is interesting to hear an former insider say it.

A former Christian talks about the Christian Facade.

Don't bother sending horrible Charlie Kirk videos to Friends and Family.

They don't love him DESPITE what he said, they adore him FOR what he said.

She also discusses the pressure to conform & keep secrets. #DemVoices pic.twitter.com/ARbeDyPWFR

— ⚓️ 🇺🇸 Proud Navy Veteran (@naretevduorp) September 27, 2025

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Sean McVay said Steve Avila (ankle) will be a full participant in practice today, but they’ll see how today goes before determining his status for Sunday vs. Colts

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Davante Adams said the hamstring is just something he’s been dealing with a little and he wanted to take some extra time off with the quick turnaround after Sunday’s game to Thursday’s. It’s been getting better each day.

By my count, the Rams should have every member of their original 53-man roster good to go for Sunday outside of top cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who is on Injured Reserve.

That remains a huge loss, but a full O-Line for a full game would make a big difference.

They do the Rams at 2:00 in.

NEW: The Colts' offense has been clicking and 12 personnel is a big reason for it. The Colts are the 2nd best 12 personnel team in the league (EPA/play) and they average 7.9 yards per play in it.

12 personnel has been devastating for defenses this year: https://t.co/t3HZ5zgSmD

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) September 24, 2025

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Rams safety/nickel/Star Quentin Lake through 3 weeks:

T-1st with 5 passes broken up
T-2nd with 5 passes defended
4th with 2.1 yards per target (min. 10 targets)
3rd with 20% completion rate allowed (min. 10 targets)

8 stats and facts to know for Rams vs. Colts in Week 4
The Rams face a big test this weekend against the 3-0 Colts, who have punted just 1 time this season

Cameron DaSilva

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2025/09/24/rams-colts-stats-facts-preview-week-4/86326355007/?taid=68d41a68580abb0001fcc959&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

Ahead of this highly anticipated matchup, here are eight stats and facts to know for Sunday’s game.

Colts have fewest punts to start a season since 1940

The Colts could’ve made punter Rigoberto Sanchez a healthy scratch in the first three games because he’s only punted one time this season. The Colts’ one punt through three games is the fewest by a team to start a season since 1940, showing just how efficient the offense has been thus far.

Rams have worst pass-blocking grade in NFL, Colts are 2nd

According to Pro Football Focus, the Rams’ pass protection has been the worst in the NFL. They have a grade of 37.4 in that department so far this season, lower than every other team.

The Colts, meanwhile, have the second-highest pass-blocking grade at 71.6. The Broncos are miles ahead of everyone else with a grade of 79.3, but the Colts are the next-closest team.

Rams are tied for NFL lead with 12 sacks

As expected, the Rams have had one of the best pass rushes in football. They have 12 sacks in just three games, which is tied with the Broncos for the most in the NFL. Their 93 sack yards are also the most of any team, with an 11.5% sack rate that ranks third in football.

Colts have 4th-worst pass-rush win rate

The Rams’ pass rush is outstanding, but the same can’t be said about the Colts’. In fact, they have one of the lowest pressure rates and pass-rush win rates in the league. According to Pro Football Reference, the Colts’ 15.9% pressure rate is the fifth-worst of any team.

ESPN has the Colts with a pass-rush win rate of only 25%, which is 29th in the league – or fourth-worst. Matthew Stafford should have time to find open receivers without dealing with too much pressure in the pocket.

Teams are just 2-for-5 on FGs against Colts

Teams have not had much success kicking field goals against the Colts. Opponents are only 2-for-5 on field goal attempts when facing the Colts this season, with one of those kicks being blocked.

Wil Lutz of the Broncos missed a 42-yarder in Week 2, while Joey Slye missed a 64-yarder last week before having a 62-yard attempt blocked. So really, teams have only missed one reasonable attempt against the Colts this season, but with the Rams coming off a game where two FGs were blocked, they must be on high alert because the Colts will be looking to get their hands on each kick.

Colts have worst red zone defense in NFL, 7th-worst offense

The Rams rank 23rd in the league with a red zone touchdown rate of just 46.2% on offense this season, showing how badly they’ve struggled when getting inside the 20-yard line. They could improve that number this week when they face the worst red zone defense in football.

The Colts have allowed six red zone trips by their opponents and on all six drives, they scored touchdowns. They’re the only team in the NFL to allow a 100% touchdown rate in the red zone this season.

Rams own best starting field position differential of any team

Rams offensive possessions start at their own 35.1-yard line on average this season, the best starting field position of any team. They’ve been equally good at pinning opponents deep, ranking second in the NFL with an average starting position allowed of the 25.2-yard line.

That means on average, the Rams have 10 yards better of starting field position, the best in the league. The Colts have the third-worst average starting field position (33.8) in football.

Matthew Stafford averages more yards per game vs. Colts than all but 2 opponents

Stafford has faced the Colts five times in his career, going 3-2 in those games. He averages 317.2 passing yards per game against Indianapolis, which is the third-best mark he has against other team. The only teams he averages more yards per game against are the Lions (325.5 in two games) and Steelers (338.7 in three games).

5 Rams were limited in practice today, including Steve Avila and Braden Fiske. Davante Adams and Rob Havenstein were also held out with soreness but should be fine https://t.co/17zf62WUu9

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) September 25, 2025

Nate Atkins, Rams Mailbag: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6655703/2025/09/24/rams-mailbag-loss-eagles/?source=emp_shared_article

As disappointing as the finish at Philly was, my first thought was, “I hope the Rams play them again.” Throughout the game, it looked like the Rams had moved closer to the Eagles since the playoff loss. What do you think? — James S.

My takeaway is that the Rams should be encouraged that their talent level matched so closely with an Eagles team that has won 19 of 20 games. However, that reality shouldn’t keep them from seeking improvements just because lesser teams won’t expose the same problems.

The encouraging part is that three pillars of the Rams’ operation — McVay, Matthew Stafford and Adams — did not have their best games, and they almost won. But it was encouraging to see the run game take off as consistently as it did, with a great new balance between Kyren Williams as a volume runner and Blake Corum as a change-of-pace back when defenses are tired of defending those downhill, stretch-zone attacks.

And more encouraging than that was the defense’s effort against Saquon Barkley, who managed just 55 yards on 22 touches after piling up the two best rushing games of his career on the Rams last season. That’s where Poona Ford and Nate Landman made a real difference.

Two specific matchups that are out of favor for the Rams against the Eagles: their interior offensive line against first-round picks Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, and their hodgepodge cornerback room against star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Those matchups told the story of the second half, in addition to the Rams going into too much of a shell offensively as the crowd began to roar.

The interior line’s health should be better if these two play again this season — and I think they will, as the road to the Super Bowl goes through Philadelphia for now. The secondary is more complicated, but we’ll get to that soon.

Can you ask McVay about his red zone play calling? Why is he going for a long ball on third-and-1 or a run on third-and-long? — Andy M.

After Sunday’s loss, McVay was asked broadly if he had any regrets in how he coached the game. He brought up one you mentioned: the deep shot to Adams on third-and-1 early in the fourth quarter, from the Eagles’ 46-yard line with a 26-21 lead.

I understood McVay’s goal. The Eagles stacked eight players in the box, so a play-action deep ball with two of the best at throwing and catching it made sense. Philadelphia’s single-high safety didn’t track with Adams as he ran a deep post route, which left him to beat Quinyon Mitchell to a spot. But the plan to have a motioning Nacua help in pass protection with tight end Colby Parkinson, who was fighting through a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, was not good enough against Jalyx Hunt.

Stafford released the ball right as Adams cut out of his initial break, but he just didn’t get enough air under the throw for the distance Adams was covering. This is one of the third-down “physical” misses Stafford alluded to after the game.

It’s not a coincidence that the very next call, on fourth-and-1, was McVay’s most conservative yet. It was a run by Williams up the middle. But this was an even worse matchup to hunt, with fourth guard option Beaux Limmer trying to block Davis, who blew up the play.

It goes to show the reactionary, fluctuating nature of calling plays in a sport with a 40-second play clock. McVay was calling a more conservative game because it wasn’t Stafford’s most consistent throwing day, the interior pressure was strong and the Rams’ run game gashed Philadelphia for 160 yards on 5.2 per carry. But those runs worked by getting to the edges and away from Davis and Carter.

If the deep ball works, the Rams win, and we’re talking about the boldness to take that shot right as the game was getting tight. But the design, as well as the execution, was just off, and it led to a poor follow-up play call.

Those are the thin margins of this sport.

Is it even possible to fix a secondary midseason? It feels like the front office ignored that weakness this offseason because the defensive line was so strong. — George K.

Healthy and reliable outside cornerbacks don’t make it to free agency much in the spring, and the ones left on the market by the time games begin are there for a reason. That’s where the trade market is the most reliable way to get a real difference-maker, but teams aren’t looking to offload good players who aren’t a problem until closer to the deadline in November.

This is a reality of the roster build. The Rams are spending the most in the league on their offense and the second least on defense. They’ve had one first-round pick since 2016 and used it on a pass rusher in Jared Verse last year.

What it means is that what you do spend has to really hit. It stings to lose Ahkello Witherspoon, who was a major find in 2023 and whom they were able to get back for the veteran minimum this year. It shifts the spotlight to Darious Williams, the one real investment they have made, now in the second year of a three-year, $22.5 million contract. He was benched for Emmanuel Forbes Jr. to start the year and stepped back in after the Witherspoon injury, but he was just their third outside option on Sunday behind Forbes and Cobie Durant.

I think the Rams need to give Stephon Gilmore a serious look. Having covered Gilmore in Indianapolis, I’m confident that part of the reason he’s available is that he isn’t just willing to play for the veteran minimum. And he is 35 now. But he’s aged differently than other cornerbacks, thanks to a unique physical skill set, veteran savvy and lack of an injury history. He allowed just 6.3 yards per target with the Minnesota Vikings last season, per Sports Info Solutions, which is his lowest full-season number since 2018.

Is there anything the coaching staff can do to encourage Stafford to throw to someone other than Nacua or Adams? — Tim D.

Through three games, Nacua and Adams rank second and seventh, respectively, in the league in targets. The New Orleans Saints are the only other team with two in the top 20.

Some of this is Stafford’s nature. He is the ultimate WR1 elevator, which helped lead to Cooper Kupp’s triple-crown season in 2021. When I covered Stafford in Detroit, he would pepper Marvin Jones and Golden Tate for more than 100 targets in a season, often to the chagrin of first-round tight end Eric Ebron. But that did start to even out once the Lions drafted Kenny Golladay in 2017.

On the Rams, Nacua and Adams are playing at least 75 percent of the snaps, whereas the next-highest pass catcher is Tyler Higbee at 63 percent. Stafford has long favored wide receivers over tight ends, and the next-highest receiver in playing time is Jordan Whittington at 55 percent.

Nacua and Adams bring a much higher pedigree than those other options. Adams is a three-time first-team All-Pro. Nacua has played 31 career games and is averaging more than 90 yards per outing. And so when that’s working to the level it is to start this season, it just creates more chemistry and trust between those players and Stafford, making it harder for other players to cut into the pie.

The coaching staff is leaning into this by varying the usage between 11 and 12 personnel, as well as by rotating who that third receiver is between Whittington and Tutu Atwell, who is commanding 41 percent of the snaps. Stafford has worked well in the past with pass-catching running backs. But that’s not Kyren Williams’ game.

Stafford is running much of the scheme his team has set up for him, which is built on his tendencies as well as his new reality as a 37-year-old with a degenerative back issue to protect. That’s why we’re seeing an uptick in two-tight end sets and play action, which demands tight ends to block.

Until second-round rookie Terrance Ferguson is on the field — and I sense that is about blocking readiness and mastery of the playbook, which are huge challenges for rookies — I wouldn’t expect a high target share to go the tight ends’ way now that Higbee is 32 with some injuries that have taken a toll.