It’s a forgettable opening night for the Los Angeles Rams in 28-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
Reporting from SANTA CLARA — The NFL wanted football back in Los Angeles in the worst way.
And darned if that wasn’t what the league got Monday night.
The Rams had no rhythm, no confidence and played as if they didn’t have an exhibition season. The San Francisco 49ers looked like they knew L.A.’s playbook better than the Rams did, seldom appearing surprised or fooled in a 28-0 victory.
“It’s embarrassing to go out there and not put any points on the board,” running back Todd Gurley said.
The 49ers are hardly a juggernaut. They were 31st in offense last season — rolling up fewer yards than anyone but the Rams — and 29th in defense. They finished 5-11, leading to the hiring of Chip Kelly.
The NFC West is the NFL’s toughest division, so the road only gets more treacherous from here.
Monday night ended in a meltdown for Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He was ejected in the fourth quarter after grabbing receiver Quinton Patton by the back of the neck, then jamming his hand so hard in Patton’s face that it knocked off the receiver’s helmet. Apparently, in the scrum that ensued, Donald made contact with an official, securing him a ticket out of the game.
Bill Plaschke, Sam Farmer, Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry break down the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers in a season opener at Levy’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
As Donald left the field, the 2014 defensive rookie of the year ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the turf in frustration, exiting to taunting chants of “Beat L.A.!”
The L.A. defensive front, which has been the strength of this team, got pushed around in the trenches, picked apart by Blaine Gabbert and trampled by Carlos Hyde. It wasn’t as if San Francisco’s was a vintage Kelly offense, gaining tons of yards at a breathtaking pace. The Rams just couldn’t put up much resistance.
And forget HBO, because the real hard knocks start now. The Rams host their home opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday — hardly a pushover, even though they swept the Seahawks last season. Russell Wilson is nursing a bum ankle and the Rams always do a good job of getting to him, but you can bet Pete Carroll won’t be embarrassed in his Coliseum homecoming.
After that, the Rams have tough back-to-back road games at Tampa Bay and Arizona. The Buccaneers looked great Sunday. And even though the Cardinals lost at home to New England on Sunday night, they’re Super Bowl contenders.
Perhaps the best news for the Rams is Week 1 is often a mirage. Teams that look terrible sometimes turn it around and look dramatically better in Week 2. It isn’t uncommon for a team that looks especially strong in its opener to tumble back to Earth in the second week.
The Rams finished 7-9 last season. They’re loaded with young, talented players and they’re capable of giving opponents problems. They have beaten Seattle in three of their last four meetings and won at Arizona last season.
But there’s no question this was a forgettable night for the new L.A. team, stars included. Even the best Rams made mental missteps. Tavon Austin made a fair catch of a punt at the nine-yard line rather than letting it bounce into the end zone. Gurley, repeatedly stymied at the line of scrimmage, had a three-yard gain up the middle on fourth and one … and flicked the ball at a 49ers defender in frustration, drawing a 15-yard penalty for taunting. Donald was flagged for roughing the passer after hitting Blaine Gabbert late. It wasn’t pretty.
The best player of the night for L.A. was punter Johnny Hekker, and that’s seldom a good sign.
All the while, No. 1 pick Jared Goff watched the game in sweats, a deactivated third-stringer. That’s not so bad; the Rams said they weren’t going to rush him, and they’re confident he has what it takes to be their franchise quarterback in fairly short order.
But a couple of thoughts on Goff: It’s not as if the offense was rolling without him and he would have gummed up the works; the Rams couldn’t budge anyway. And it’s awkward that the top pick isn’t playing when so many inexperienced quarterbacks turned in impressive Week 1 performances: rookies Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys, second-year Trevor Siemian of the Denver Broncos and Tom Brady stand-in Jimmy Garoppolo of the New England Patriots.
The first episode of “Hard Knocks” opens with Goff taking off in a Goodyear blimp. He looks uncomfortable and confides, “I hate roller coasters.”
Brace yourself, kid.
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