Through the first four weeks of the 2026 season, the Los Angeles Rams have struggled on special teams . In 2010, the San Diego Chargers went 9-7 and missed the playoffs because of poor special teams play. Much like the Rams this year, they also started the season 2-2.
The Chargers opened that season with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, in part because of a 94-yard punt return touchdown by Dexter McCluster. In Week 3, the Chargers gave up a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to the Seattle Seahawks. The Chargers gave up a second kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, losing by seven.
That 2010 Chargers team is infamous for having the No. 1 defense and No. 1 offense, but the 32nd-ranked special teams unit. Through four weeks, the Rams have the No. 2 offense and No. 2 defense, but the 32nd-ranked special teams unit.If they don't fix their special teams, the Rams could be heading down a similarly disappointing path.
According to DVOA, the Rams' special teams unit ranks 32nd at -14.5 percent. The next four teams ahead of them have a combined record of 0-16. In every game this season, the Rams have had some sort of special teams error. Against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, the Rams allowed a 45-yard kickoff return to open the second half. It didn't take long for the 49ers to score a touchdown and take control of the game.
While the Rams beat the New York Giants in Week 2, Ethan Evans opened with a 38-yard punt and Harison Mevis missed a 43-yard field goal. Xavier Smith also bobbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Tanner Ingle took a 15-yard penalty on a kick return.
Against the Denver Broncos, Smith again made poor decisions in the return game. Additionally, Evans shanked a re-kick, and the Rams allowed a 28-yard return to give the Broncos a short field. Neither of the Broncos' two touchdown drives in the third quarter went more than 52 yards.
Special teams almost cost the Rams last week as well. The Rams allowed a 41-yard punt return to set the Philadelphia Eagles up in the red zone. In the same game, Harrison Mevis missed a 48-yard field goal and had a kickoff go out of bounds.
To the Rams' credit, they are actively trying to address the issues . Head coach Sean McVay recognizes that changes need to be made. Even though the Rams beat the Eagles on Sunday, McVay addressed the special teams issues.
"We need better," said McVay on Monday. "As it relates to the return game, you have to do a good job of holding up and doing better on some of the perimeter play. I thought we fielded the ball clean. The conditions were unique, but we have to be able to get some more production out of that. Obviously, I would have loved for us to have made that field goal kick, and then the long punt return is not good. We have to do a better job of casting a net, being able to tackle."
The Rams cut punt returner Xavier Smith last week and also moved on from Tanner Ingle. Both players had been responsible for key special teams errors in the past. The Rams also signed Maximus Pulley off of the Eagles' practice squad who is a good special teams player. This week, they signed linebacker Eric Kendricks. Still, the changes are only scratching the surface.
According to DVOA, the Rams' field goal unit ranks 28th at -4.0 percent. Only the Steelers, 49ers, Dolphins, and Falcons are worse. Their kickoff unit ranks 28th as well at -2.1 percent. Mevis' longest field goal this season is 48 yards. He's one of just six kickers without a make over 50 yards. The Rams have lost 0.17 EPA per kick from Mevis, ranking 26th in the NFL.
It would be one thing if Mevis was missing long field goals, but the Rams don't appear to trust his leg from range. Mevis is 4-for-6 in his career from beyond 45 yards. The Rams have actively passed up kicking 52-yard field goals and taken delay-of-game penalties to punt. Last week, the Rams went for it on 4th-and-8 instead of allowing Mevis to kick a 53-yard field goal.
This isn't to say that the Rams should go back to Joshua Karty, but Mevis is just 1-for-3 from 48 yards in his career. From 45+, Karty was 3-for-4. That's not necessarily an argument for Karty, but rather an illustration of Mevis' inconsistencies from range. His miss on Sunday against the Eagles was so far left, it didn't hit the kicking net behind the goal posts.
The lack of confidence in his kicker has forced McVay to become more aggressive, which might be a good thing. At the same time, you have to have a kicker that can make it from range in today's NFL.
Inside of 45 yards, Mevis has been reliable. However, some are mistaking being reliable for being good when it comes to Mevis. Given Karty's inconsistencies, Mevis being 46-for-46 on extra points is a good thing.
With that said, 20-of-26 attempts in his career have been inside of 45 yards. He's 19-for-20 on those attempts. From 45+, Mevis is 4-for-6 with a 66.7 percent make-rate. The NFL average from 45+ is 73.4 percent. In today's NFL when two first downs can essentially put an offense in potential field goal range, the Rams need a kicker who is consistent inside of 45, but also has the leg to hit from deep.
The Rams don't necessarily need to replace Mevis, but last year they brought in competition for Karty and they should be looking to do the same now. Tanner Brown was signed by the Rams as a rookie, but didn't make it through the preseason. He was 29-for-32 in the UFL last year, missing one field goal from inside of 50 yards. Brown also had makes from 60 and 63 yards.
The Rams made a change at punt returner with Alex Bachman last week after cutting Smith. It was a much-needed change, but it's hard to say that it was the answer. Replacing Smith with Bachman wasn't a solution, but rather a band-aid.
DVOA currently has the Rams' kick return unit ranked 32nd at -6.4 percent and their punt return unit ranked 27th at -2.2 percent. Their average starting field position at the 26.8-yard line ranks 29th in the NFL. Rams' opponents are averaging starting field position about 5.6 yards better than the Rams. That difference ranks 27th.
We'll see how this improves without Smith over the next four weeks, but it feels like the Rams still need to do more here. However, the bar remains very low at "simply catch the ball and make good decisions." Bachman did that last week and likely will remain in that spot until he shows that he can't be trusted.
If there is another spot that the Rams make a change, it wouldn't be surprising to see it come at punter. The Rams rank 30th in punting DVOA at -3.4 percent. For every good punt that Evans has, he follows it up with one that puts the defense in a bad spot.
Evans' seat is, at the very least, getting warm . Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone called out his inconsistencies last week.
"We need to get more consistency from the punter," said Ventrone. "Ethan can do a better job being able to elevate the ball and match hang times and distance at a greater rate. We have to do a better job in his position."
The big return last week against the Eagles was more on the punt coverage unit than it was Evans' punt. Evans actually did a good job getting the punt along the sideline and his coverage unit was in position to make a play on the returner. Both the punter and coverage unit can be better.
With the special teams unit struggling, it makes sense to place some blame on the coordinator. However, at what point is that not the case? The Rams have gone through the carousel of coordinators and nothing changes. It's a unit that needs a consistent voice and Ventrone isn't a bad voice to have in the building.
Despite the early special teams struggles, there is some optimism around Ventrone. This offseason, he was responsible for two moves. Those moves were signing Joe Cardona and Grant Stuard. Both Cardona and Stuard are two of the Rams' best special teams players. He likely also had some say in the Maximus Pulley signing .
If Ventrone is able to have some say on the personnel, it's possible that the special teams unit gets turned around. However, that hasn't been the case the last few years, and that was evident when the Rams opted not to make any personnel changes at kicker, punter, or returner this offseason.
Again, that's not to say that Ventrone is blameless with some of the struggles. Still, if he's given time and support by the front office and head coach, there is reason to believe he can turn it around.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as Rams Special Teams Analysis: What's Going Wrong and How to Fix It .
