LONDON — It’s OK to say it with a straight face. Unlike a year ago, nobody is going to point and laugh.
The Rams are playoff contenders.
A lock for the playoffs? No, certainly not. The season hasn’t even reached its midpoint, and any number of things could knock the Rams off track. If the Rams’ masterful 33-0 victory over Arizona on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium proved anything, though, it’s that their success cannot be considered a fluke.
The Rams have a 5-2 record for the first time since 2003. Their defense, an eyebrow-raising weakness early in the season, seems to be improving by the week and recorded its first shutout in three years. Todd Gurley gained 100 yards again. Jared Goff made one mistake but otherwise guided with a calm hand.
Not long ago, the question was, what would be considered success in Coach Sean McVay’s first season? Well, here’s one: The Rams already have won more games than they did in 2016, when they went 4-12.
“So happy. So excited,” guard Rodger Saffold said. “This is the first time I’ve felt success for a long time. So now it’s, how you can handle this success and go week after week, putting your best foot forward?”
The mere mention of the word “playoffs” made some players visibly uncomfortable after Sunday’s game.
In some ways, it must seem crazy to a player such as Saffold, who has been with the Rams since 2010. At that point, the Rams were only six years removed from their last playoff appearance. Saffold has spent most of his adult life in the NFL and never has ended a season with more than seven victories.
So perhaps this just feels a little surreal to the Rams. Perhaps they don’t want to jinx it, but it seems clear that they’ve sent a message that the postseason, and perhaps a division title, are not out of reach.
“Call it whatever you want, man. We’re just trying to win games every week,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “I don’t think we’re ever content with where we’re at. (Being) 5-2 feels good, but offensively especially, we have got a lot of things to improve. I was talking to the guys after the game and I was like, ‘How do you think we played?’ ‘Oh, we played OK.’
That’s not false modesty by Goff, which might be the most encouraging thing about these Rams. They’re not playing over their heads. This doesn’t feel “magical.” It seems like a good team finding ways to win, but it also seems that the Rams still could improve if small things get cleaned up..
To be clear, the Cardinals were awful. They arrived in London a couple days before the Rams and should have been better adjusted, but they looked flat from the game’s start. It certainly didn’t help that quarterback Carson Palmer broke his arm in the second quarter after an Alec Ogletree hit.
That sent the Rams on their way. Palmer’s pass fluttered after that hit, and Lamarcus Joyner intercepted it. Gurley scored on the next play, on an 18-yard touchdown run, to give the Rams a 13-0 lead, and the Rams added 10 points in the final two minutes of the second quarter, without a timeout.
The Rams dominated, statistically. They held the ball for 39 minutes, which included a 10-minute drive in the fourth quarter, and outgained Arizona 425-193. The Rams converted 13 of 19 third-down attempts.
Gurley gained 106 yards on 22 carries against a Cardinals defense that had been strong against the run. Gurley now has four 100-yard games this season. Goff threw for 235 yards and was nearly flawless, other than a fourth-quarter interception on a play that appeared to include (uncalled) pass interference.
At the end, the Rams basically shrugged and did their best to deflect praise.
“We’ve experienced a lot of things in these seven games, but by no means have we arrived,” McVay said. “There’s improvement that we can continue to focus on, both as coaches and as players. We’re going to enjoy the bye week and get healthy and get rested.”
The Rams don’t play again until Nov. 5, with a road game against the New York Giants. After Sunday’s game, a team executive joked that he wished the Rams could just keep playing.
McVay, whose January hiring was met with some skepticism, seems to be succeeding everywhere his predecessor failed. The Rams have scored 212 points in seven games. They scored 224 points in 16 games last season, and now they have a quickly improving defense to provide extra support.
“It feels good,” defensive lineman Michael Brockers said. “I think today we sent a message to our division, and we’re not going to be sneaking up on anybody. We’re expecting everybody’s A-plus game and we’re up for the challenge.
“I’m not making any predictions or anything. This is a good team. That’s all I want to let you know. This is a good team. We’re here to play.”