An early contender for the worst take of the 2026 season has arrived—and it’s centered around the Los Angeles Rams
The most unreasonably spicy NFL take of the season is here and it’s centered around the Los Angeles Rams.
Did the 2026 season start the way the Los Angeles Rams were hoping? Absolutely not. I don’t think anyone is willing to debate that. A punchless loss to San Francisco plus an IR stint for Myles Garrett? It’s not great.
But the takes have jumped the shark. And perhaps no take embodies that more than a recent opinion from ESPN’s Chris Canty. Canty thinks an extended absence for Myles Garrett would proverbially end the Rams’ season.
Can we chill with the sky is falling attitude towards the Los Angeles Rams?
“If (Myles Garrett) doesn’t come back sooner rather than later, their season is going to be over whether both (Garrett and Aaron Donald) are healthy and in the lineup or not. Because the reality of the situation is that defense? Can’t stop the run. They allowed the San Francisco 49ers to run the ball 30 times at six yards a pop.”
— Chris Canty, ESPN
Yes. The Rams need to look themselves in the mirror and have some hard conversations. Perhaps the late flight to Australia was a catastrophic decision. Maybe the offseason buzz was, as Nick Saban has called it, rat poison that sabotaged Week 1. You know what I feel quite confident about? That these Rams players and coaches didn’t just…forget how to play football. Because the Rams didn’t have Myles Garrett or Aaron Donald last year when they were on the cusp of winning the NFC Championship.
There’s a difference between acknowledging that a team needs to clean things up and burying them after one week. The Rams still have plenty of talent to compete, both short-term and long-term. I would assume the Rams will expeditiously find some answers on defense to adjust.
Losing Garrett for any stretch hurts, as does the loss to the 49ers. But treating it like a five-alarm fire makes for good television — not good analysis. Injuries may sink the Rams’ season down the line. But it will take a lot more than a Myles Garrett injury to bring this thing crashing down.
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