Two Kickers, One Glaring Number: Inside the Rams' 63.6% Field-Goal Problem

The Los Angeles Rams have spent the last week solving a problem most teams never have to think about, and they've done it in the most Rams way possible: by hiring two people to do one job.

Sunday's 24-9 win over the Chargers was the first look at Sean McVay's split-kicking arrangement. Brandon McManus, signed October 20 after Blake Grupe landed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, handled field goals — he's 1-for-1 in two games. Joshua Karty, re-signed to the practice squad on October 28 and elevated for Week 8, handled kickoffs. The Rams also brought back long snapper Jake McQuaide, insurance with Joseph Cardona listed as doubtful (ankle) on this week's report.

It's an unusual arrangement, and McVay hasn't ruled out carrying both kickers on the game-day roster going forward. But the weirdness is proportional to the underlying failure.

The Number That Explains Everything

Through eight games, the Rams are 7-of-11 on field goals — 63.6 percent, the lowest mark in the league. They've been perfect on extra points (23-of-23), so this isn't a snapping or holding crisis. It's a kicker crisis that has now churned through Harrison Mevis, Grupe, McManus and Karty in a single season.

Consider what that's cost in a season where the margins have been razor thin. Three of the Rams' last four games before Week 8 were decided on the final play. They lost to Denver 30-26, to Buffalo 34-37, and to Arizona 16-18. That's three defeats by a combined nine points in a 4-4 season. A league-average kicking operation is plausibly the difference between 4-4 and 6-2.

The rest of the operation is functioning. Los Angeles is averaging 24.2 points per game and 395.4 yards over its last ten, converting 46.2 percent on third down and 62.9 percent of red-zone trips into touchdowns. The problem isn't moving the ball; it's finishing drives with points.

What's Actually Working

Matthew Stafford has quietly rounded into form. Over his last three games he's completing 74.7 percent of his passes with a 105.2 passer rating, and his season line — 2,146 yards, 15 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 93.2 rating — looks far better than the 2-4 start it accompanied.

The backfield has become a genuine two-headed problem for defenses. Kyren Williams has 548 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 112 carries, plus 33 catches for 242 yards. Blake Corum has added 389 yards and three scores on 75 attempts. Puka Nacua remains the chain-mover with 56 receptions for 565 yards.

Defensively, the Rams have allowed 21.0 points per game over their last five and got Aaron Donald back into the lineup after his early-season back issue — he's up to 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

The Next Test

Week 9 takes Los Angeles to Northwest Stadium to face a Washington team that is 2-4-1 and allowing 26.0 points per game, with defensive tackles Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw both ruled out. The Rams are 2-1 on the road this season.

The market has Los Angeles as a 5.5-point favorite with an implied win probability north of 70 percent — a reflection of a team the numbers like considerably more than the record does.

Which is precisely the point. The Rams' rating grades them as a top-ten team, and their underlying efficiency supports it. What separates a top-ten team from a 4-4 one is usually a handful of hidden yards and one reliable leg. Los Angeles has spent the past week trying to buy back the second part. If the McManus-Karty arrangement holds, the rest of the roster is good enough to make the standings look very different by December.