The Rams have made several changes on special teams over the last couple of years, but the team’s results have still been poor — particularly on kick coverage.
Despite getting a win over the Raiders on Sunday, the Rams allowed a 36-yard return on the game’s opening kickoff, then allowed another 42-yard return later in the first quarter.
After that, Los Angeles had Brandon McManus send the ball to the end zone for a touchback.
It’s a continuation of an issue the team has had all season. It’s partially the reason Blake Grupe suffered a torn ACL, as he had to make a tackle to prevent an even longer return on a kickoff in Week 6.
Head coach Sean McVay told reporters in his Monday news conference that the coverage issues were the same.
“It was not good enough,” McVay said, via transcript from the team. “We’ve talked about this a lot, and it has to get fixed. It’s not good enough, and we cannot allow ourselves to do that. That was a great return unit that we were going against. [Raiders Special Teams Coordinator] Joe ‘D’ [DeCamillis] and those guys did a really good job, but we have to be much better. You can’t give up the first two times that you cover that field position.”
So what can the Rams do going forward?
“I have to figure that out,” McVay said. “It’s one of those deals that’s driving me crazy. We have to figure it out, and we haven’t yet.”
The Rams have notoriously under-invested in special teams in recent years, and it has continued to affect games. It’s likely to cost the team again in 2026 — unless and until the team can finally effectively cover a kick.