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The Rams’ late-season slip could have mammoth NFL consequences

The Rams’ late-season slip could have mammoth NFL consequences

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It wasn’t long ago that the Los Angeles Rams looked like the class of the NFL. On November 24th this team was sitting at 9-2, fresh off a blowout win against the Buccaneers, and holding a remaining schedule that made it appear like they were going to coast to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Fast forward five weeks and things are now very, very different.

Not only are the Rams 2-3 in their last five games, but they’ve endured two embarassing losses at the hands of the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons. Injuries have played a role, especially with Davante Adams being sidelined — but that still shouldn’t take an elite team like Los Angeles and cast them into the doldrums. It’s unclear if the team took their foot off the gas too early, wanted to save their energy for the playoffs, or simply looked past their weak opponents to tougher competition, but the result is the same either way: The Rams are on the verge of costing themselves much of what they built this season.

The loss of the No. 1 seed

These flat performances have taken the Rams out of contention for the NFC West, as well as the No. 1 seed. Now they will have to play on Wild Card weekend, and travel throughout the playoffs. This is bad for two reasons: Firstly, it gives less time for Davante Adams to recover, who is pivotal to Los Angeles’ red zone passing game, and secondly there’s an inherent disadvantage for the Rams to travel across time zones to prep for games.

If the playoffs began today the Rams would travel to Chicago to face the Bears, rather than have the Packers come to Los Angeles. The Bears are one of the hottest teams in the division right now, while Green Bay has lost three straight.

Matthew Stafford’s MVP candidacy has taken a massive hit

The yards have continually racked up for Stafford, but so have the interceptions. Going back to that same Nov. 24 date he was sitting at 30 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which was the biggest selling point for his resume against Drake Maye’s breakout year.

Now he’s thrown six interceptions in five games, taking his overall TD/INT ratio to 42/8. Obviously this is still a mammoth year, but Maye now sits at 30/8 with a much worse supporting cast on offense. What was once a runaway award, much like the Rams No. 1 seed chances, has now pulled back. There’s a very real case to be made for someone other than Stafford to win MVP.

Losing to the Falcons did major damage to their own draft pick

One of the best moves at the 2025 NFL Draft was the Rams trading away the No. 26 pick to the Falcons, who then selected James Pearce Jr. A win in Atlanta would have put that draft pick heading to L.A. at No. 8. Currently it’s at No. 12, with a very real chance the pick could end up as low as 20th.

What was once a chance to land a top quarterback to develop a succession plan has now evaporated. The Rams won’t be able to get a top passer without trading up, which seems highly unlikely. They needed that win in Atlanta in more ways than one.

The NFC South has bizarrely found a way to solve Puka Nacua

This is a big deal when it comes to a potential playoff game in the NFC South without Davante Adams. This season Nacua has nine games where he’s failed to reach 100 yards receiving, including all four games against the Rams’ NFC South opponents.

Nacua has averaged 77.75 yards per game against the NFC South, and 120 yards against non-NFC South opponents. Part of this is because the division all tends to run three-deep zone coverages designed to take away explosive plays, which drastically limits the Rams’ passing game.

This is something to watch, especially if the Rams manage to land the No. 5 seed where they will travel to face the winner of Panthers vs. Buccaneers.

There’s a tendency to look at each loss in isolation and say “well, they still have a good record.” This is partially true, but doesn’t tell the whole story. Teams now have five losses of film to look over and identify what beat the Rams, particularly on offense.

Los Angeles has been a team that soared due to the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL, and the shared DNA in four of those five losses was an inability to hit their season scoring average. The only outlier was their loss to the Seahawks, in which their overtime touchdown prevented them from falling below the mark.

Sean McVay is one of the best coaches in the NFL, without question — but good coaches will be able to learn from the weaknesses shown in losses and capitalize in the playoffs.

The Rams are still really good … I think

This is a team indicative of the 2025 season. The second you think you found a good team, they find a way to make you eat your words. There’s still every reason to believe that Los Angeles is an elite team with the potential to win the Super Bowl, but there are major cracks showing.

Without Davante Adams the offense has taken a big step back, and the defense is faltering against sub-par competition. None of it makes sense, but one thing is certain: The Rams have done a lot of damage to themselves over the past five weeks, and the ramifications for 2025 and beyond are significant.

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Deadspin | Hunter Dobbins set for Cardinals debut vs. Pirates, Paul Skenes Apr 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) throws in the outfield before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Hunter Dobbins will go up against a formidable opposite number in his Cardinals debut on Thursday afternoon when St. Louis opposes the host Pittsburgh Pirates. The 26-year-old right-hander will face the Pirates’ ace, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-1, 2.48 ERA). St. Louis has won the first three contests of the four-game series after holding on for a 5-4 victory on Thursday night, which ended with Nathan Church leaping at the left field wall to snare Nick Gonzales’ long drive with a runner on. Dobbins will be activated from the injured list to make a spot start with St. Louis in the team’s stretch of 17 games in 17 days. Dobbins has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis, where he went 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA in five starts. The Texas Tech product is set to make his first major league appearance since last July, when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox and tore his right ACL during a fielding play. That injury and an elbow strain limited him to 61 innings as a rookie in 2025. Dobbins will be trying to follow an outstanding start by Andre Pallante on Wednesday night, in which he allowed a run and five hits over six innings. Dobbins went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA, 17 walks and 45 strikeouts in 13 games (11 starts) for the Red Sox last year. The Cardinals obtained Dobbins and two other pitching prospects when they traded Willson Contreras to Boston in December. Dobbins faced only two of Pittsburgh’s current players last season. Jake Mangum singled against him as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Ryan O’Hearn went 0-for-2 vs. Dobbins while playing for the Baltimore Orioles. Skenes, who has 30 strikeouts and a 0.72 WHIP in 29 innings, is coming off a 6-0 win over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Friday in which he took a perfect game into the seventh. Jake Bauers’ two-out groundball single broke up the quest for perfection. Skenes had to settle for seven innings of one-hit, scoring ball. He struck out a season-best seven, walked none and threw a season-high 93 pitches. “That’s the best I’ve ever seen from anyone, I think,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after the game. Opponents are hitting .141 against Skenes this season. He held foes to a .198 average while winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and a .199 average in his Cy Young campaign last season. “I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that he came up two years ago and he’s in his third season in the big leagues,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He’s continuing to get better, which is amazing considering what he’s already done in the game.” Even so, Skenes has yet to defeat St. Louis in his short career. Despite a 2.39 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings over six starts against the Cardinals, Skenes has a 0-4 record in those contests. St. Louis has only managed 27 hits with seven walks against him. Though his try for a game-winning walk-off home run was foiled by Church, Gonzales did extend his hitting streak to 10 games with a single earlier Wednesday night. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Hunter #Dobbins #set #Cardinals #debut #Pirates #Paul #SkenesApr 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) throws in the outfield before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Hunter Dobbins will go up against a formidable opposite number in his Cardinals debut on Thursday afternoon when St. Louis opposes the host Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 26-year-old right-hander will face the Pirates’ ace, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-1, 2.48 ERA).

St. Louis has won the first three contests of the four-game series after holding on for a 5-4 victory on Thursday night, which ended with Nathan Church leaping at the left field wall to snare Nick Gonzales’ long drive with a runner on.

Dobbins will be activated from the injured list to make a spot start with St. Louis in the team’s stretch of 17 games in 17 days. Dobbins has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis, where he went 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA in five starts.

The Texas Tech product is set to make his first major league appearance since last July, when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox and tore his right ACL during a fielding play. That injury and an elbow strain limited him to 61 innings as a rookie in 2025.

Dobbins will be trying to follow an outstanding start by Andre Pallante on Wednesday night, in which he allowed a run and five hits over six innings.

Dobbins went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA, 17 walks and 45 strikeouts in 13 games (11 starts) for the Red Sox last year.

The Cardinals obtained Dobbins and two other pitching prospects when they traded Willson Contreras to Boston in December.


Dobbins faced only two of Pittsburgh’s current players last season. Jake Mangum singled against him as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Ryan O’Hearn went 0-for-2 vs. Dobbins while playing for the Baltimore Orioles.

Skenes, who has 30 strikeouts and a 0.72 WHIP in 29 innings, is coming off a 6-0 win over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Friday in which he took a perfect game into the seventh. Jake Bauers’ two-out groundball single broke up the quest for perfection.

Skenes had to settle for seven innings of one-hit, scoring ball. He struck out a season-best seven, walked none and threw a season-high 93 pitches.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen from anyone, I think,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after the game.

Opponents are hitting .141 against Skenes this season. He held foes to a .198 average while winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and a .199 average in his Cy Young campaign last season.

“I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that he came up two years ago and he’s in his third season in the big leagues,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He’s continuing to get better, which is amazing considering what he’s already done in the game.”

Even so, Skenes has yet to defeat St. Louis in his short career. Despite a 2.39 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings over six starts against the Cardinals, Skenes has a 0-4 record in those contests. St. Louis has only managed 27 hits with seven walks against him.

Though his try for a game-winning walk-off home run was foiled by Church, Gonzales did extend his hitting streak to 10 games with a single earlier Wednesday night.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Hunter #Dobbins #set #Cardinals #debut #Pirates #Paul #Skenes">Deadspin | Hunter Dobbins set for Cardinals debut vs. Pirates, Paul Skenes Apr 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) throws in the outfield before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Hunter Dobbins will go up against a formidable opposite number in his Cardinals debut on Thursday afternoon when St. Louis opposes the host Pittsburgh Pirates. The 26-year-old right-hander will face the Pirates’ ace, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (4-1, 2.48 ERA). St. Louis has won the first three contests of the four-game series after holding on for a 5-4 victory on Thursday night, which ended with Nathan Church leaping at the left field wall to snare Nick Gonzales’ long drive with a runner on. Dobbins will be activated from the injured list to make a spot start with St. Louis in the team’s stretch of 17 games in 17 days. Dobbins has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis, where he went 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA in five starts. The Texas Tech product is set to make his first major league appearance since last July, when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox and tore his right ACL during a fielding play. That injury and an elbow strain limited him to 61 innings as a rookie in 2025. Dobbins will be trying to follow an outstanding start by Andre Pallante on Wednesday night, in which he allowed a run and five hits over six innings. Dobbins went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA, 17 walks and 45 strikeouts in 13 games (11 starts) for the Red Sox last year. The Cardinals obtained Dobbins and two other pitching prospects when they traded Willson Contreras to Boston in December. Dobbins faced only two of Pittsburgh’s current players last season. Jake Mangum singled against him as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Ryan O’Hearn went 0-for-2 vs. Dobbins while playing for the Baltimore Orioles. Skenes, who has 30 strikeouts and a 0.72 WHIP in 29 innings, is coming off a 6-0 win over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Friday in which he took a perfect game into the seventh. Jake Bauers’ two-out groundball single broke up the quest for perfection. Skenes had to settle for seven innings of one-hit, scoring ball. He struck out a season-best seven, walked none and threw a season-high 93 pitches. “That’s the best I’ve ever seen from anyone, I think,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after the game. Opponents are hitting .141 against Skenes this season. He held foes to a .198 average while winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2024 and a .199 average in his Cy Young campaign last season. “I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that he came up two years ago and he’s in his third season in the big leagues,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He’s continuing to get better, which is amazing considering what he’s already done in the game.” Even so, Skenes has yet to defeat St. Louis in his short career. Despite a 2.39 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings over six starts against the Cardinals, Skenes has a 0-4 record in those contests. St. Louis has only managed 27 hits with seven walks against him. Though his try for a game-winning walk-off home run was foiled by Church, Gonzales did extend his hitting streak to 10 games with a single earlier Wednesday night. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Hunter #Dobbins #set #Cardinals #debut #Pirates #Paul #Skenes

Deadspin | Howard tabs John Wall as president of basketball ops Jan 29, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Washington Wizards guard John Wall looks on before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Five-time NBA All-Star and former top overall draft pick John Wall is returning to the Washington. ESPN reported on Thursday that Wall has become the president of basketball operations at Howard, based in D.C. and a top-ranked HBCU program. Wall played the first nine seasons of his NBA career with Washington after being selected by the Wizards with the top overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 573 career games (561 starts) with Washington. Wall, 35, served as Howard’s honorary captain for the team’s game against Norfolk State on Jan. 31. Per ESPN, he reportedly expressed to the school of having an interest in serving as president of basketball operations at the NBA level one day. Wall will work alongside Howard coach Kenny Blakeney and team general manager Daniel Marks in his new role. Wall, who did not play in 2019-20, was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2020, that saw Russell Westbrook sent to Washington. The Wizards sent Wall and a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the Rockets for Westbrook and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the same 2023 draft. Wall played one season in Houston (2020-21), sat out the 2021-22 season with an injury and came back to compete in 34 games with the Clippers in 2022-23. He officially retired from the NBA on Aug. 19, 2025. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Howard #tabs #John #Wall #president #basketball #opsJan 29, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Washington Wizards guard John Wall looks on before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Five-time NBA All-Star and former top overall draft pick John Wall is returning to the Washington.

ESPN reported on Thursday that Wall has become the president of basketball operations at Howard, based in D.C. and a top-ranked HBCU program.

Wall played the first nine seasons of his NBA career with Washington after being selected by the Wizards with the top overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 573 career games (561 starts) with Washington.


Wall, 35, served as Howard’s honorary captain for the team’s game against Norfolk State on Jan. 31. Per ESPN, he reportedly expressed to the school of having an interest in serving as president of basketball operations at the NBA level one day.

Wall will work alongside Howard coach Kenny Blakeney and team general manager Daniel Marks in his new role.

Wall, who did not play in 2019-20, was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2020, that saw Russell Westbrook sent to Washington. The Wizards sent Wall and a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the Rockets for Westbrook and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the same 2023 draft.

Wall played one season in Houston (2020-21), sat out the 2021-22 season with an injury and came back to compete in 34 games with the Clippers in 2022-23. He officially retired from the NBA on Aug. 19, 2025.


–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Howard #tabs #John #Wall #president #basketball #ops">Deadspin | Howard tabs John Wall as president of basketball ops Jan 29, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Washington Wizards guard John Wall looks on before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Five-time NBA All-Star and former top overall draft pick John Wall is returning to the Washington. ESPN reported on Thursday that Wall has become the president of basketball operations at Howard, based in D.C. and a top-ranked HBCU program. Wall played the first nine seasons of his NBA career with Washington after being selected by the Wizards with the top overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 573 career games (561 starts) with Washington. Wall, 35, served as Howard’s honorary captain for the team’s game against Norfolk State on Jan. 31. Per ESPN, he reportedly expressed to the school of having an interest in serving as president of basketball operations at the NBA level one day. Wall will work alongside Howard coach Kenny Blakeney and team general manager Daniel Marks in his new role. Wall, who did not play in 2019-20, was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2020, that saw Russell Westbrook sent to Washington. The Wizards sent Wall and a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the Rockets for Westbrook and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the same 2023 draft. Wall played one season in Houston (2020-21), sat out the 2021-22 season with an injury and came back to compete in 34 games with the Clippers in 2022-23. He officially retired from the NBA on Aug. 19, 2025. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Howard #tabs #John #Wall #president #basketball #ops

Deadspin | Mets place OF Luis Robert Jr. on IL Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) reacts after popping out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images New York Mets outfielder Luis Robert Jr. could be facing an extended stint on the injured list with a lumbar spine disc herniation. The Mets placed Robert on the 10-day injured list on Thursday after an MRI exam revealed the extent of the issue that crept up Sunday. He missed the last three games and officially was moved to the injured list prior to Thursday’s game against the Washington Nationals. Infielder Eric Wagaman was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace him on the active roster. Robert, 28, is hitting .224 with a .656 OPS after a hot start to his first season in New York. The Mets acquired Robert from the Chicago White Sox in an offseason trade. Five of his 19 hits and five of his eight RBIs this season came in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move is retroactive to April 27, meaning Robert could be activated as soon as May 6 if his injury responds quickly. Injuries have hit the Mets hard in the first month-plus of the regular season. They entered Thursday with an MLB-worst 10-20 record and were 3-16 in the past 19 games. Juan Soto (calf) returned from the IL on April 22 after missing 15 games, but Francisco Lindor (hamstring) was hurt in the same game on the bases and isn’t expected to be evaluated for at least two more weeks. Starting pitcher Kodai Senga landed on the IL on Tuesday with back inflammation and two other position players — Jorge Polanco and Jared Young — are also out with injuries. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Mets #place #Luis #RobertApr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) reacts after popping out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

New York Mets outfielder Luis Robert Jr. could be facing an extended stint on the injured list with a lumbar spine disc herniation.

The Mets placed Robert on the 10-day injured list on Thursday after an MRI exam revealed the extent of the issue that crept up Sunday. He missed the last three games and officially was moved to the injured list prior to Thursday’s game against the Washington Nationals.

Infielder Eric Wagaman was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace him on the active roster.

Robert, 28, is hitting .224 with a .656 OPS after a hot start to his first season in New York. The Mets acquired Robert from the Chicago White Sox in an offseason trade.


Five of his 19 hits and five of his eight RBIs this season came in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The move is retroactive to April 27, meaning Robert could be activated as soon as May 6 if his injury responds quickly.

Injuries have hit the Mets hard in the first month-plus of the regular season. They entered Thursday with an MLB-worst 10-20 record and were 3-16 in the past 19 games.

Juan Soto (calf) returned from the IL on April 22 after missing 15 games, but Francisco Lindor (hamstring) was hurt in the same game on the bases and isn’t expected to be evaluated for at least two more weeks. Starting pitcher Kodai Senga landed on the IL on Tuesday with back inflammation and two other position players — Jorge Polanco and Jared Young — are also out with injuries.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Mets #place #Luis #Robert">Deadspin | Mets place OF Luis Robert Jr. on IL Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) reacts after popping out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images New York Mets outfielder Luis Robert Jr. could be facing an extended stint on the injured list with a lumbar spine disc herniation. The Mets placed Robert on the 10-day injured list on Thursday after an MRI exam revealed the extent of the issue that crept up Sunday. He missed the last three games and officially was moved to the injured list prior to Thursday’s game against the Washington Nationals. Infielder Eric Wagaman was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace him on the active roster. Robert, 28, is hitting .224 with a .656 OPS after a hot start to his first season in New York. The Mets acquired Robert from the Chicago White Sox in an offseason trade. Five of his 19 hits and five of his eight RBIs this season came in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move is retroactive to April 27, meaning Robert could be activated as soon as May 6 if his injury responds quickly. Injuries have hit the Mets hard in the first month-plus of the regular season. They entered Thursday with an MLB-worst 10-20 record and were 3-16 in the past 19 games. Juan Soto (calf) returned from the IL on April 22 after missing 15 games, but Francisco Lindor (hamstring) was hurt in the same game on the bases and isn’t expected to be evaluated for at least two more weeks. Starting pitcher Kodai Senga landed on the IL on Tuesday with back inflammation and two other position players — Jorge Polanco and Jared Young — are also out with injuries. –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Mets #place #Luis #Robert

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