- Oct 16, 2026
- 0
- 0
SportsMafia Wire graphic. Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Team logos via ESPN.
The Los Angeles Rams dropped to 2-4 and last place in the NFC West after an 18-16 home defeat Sunday to the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals.
The loss extended a troubling start for a team that entered the 2026 season as prohibitive Super Bowl favorites. The Rams acquired Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie this offseason and coaxed Aaron Donald out of retirement. No NFL team in the Super Bowl era has reached the championship game with a losing record through six weeks.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford has regressed across nearly every metric after posting the best campaign of his career in 2025. The 38-year-old ranks 14th in Total QBR after finishing fourth last season, and has thrown six interceptions in six games after committing just eight in 17 games in 2025. His deep passing has fallen sharply, dropping from 15.5 yards per attempt and fifth-best in the league to 9.7 and 25th. Against Arizona, Stafford overthrew a wide-open Puka Nacua on a potential 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter while taking hits from Josh Sweat and Roy Lopez.
Kicker Blake Grupe suffered an early-game knee injury against the Cardinals. The Rams also lost to the 49ers in Melbourne, the Broncos in Denver on a pick-six, and the Bills at home on special teams miscues.
Source: ESPN - Mon Oct 19, 8:12 AM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).