The LA Chargers have not even played a game yet this season and it already appears that the Bolts may have taken the mantle of being the best football team in Los Angeles.
Many analysts already rated the Chargers as one of the best teams in the entire league. The LA Rams oftentimes were not one of the few teams that were ranked ahead of the Chargers in terms of overall talent on the roster.
However, the Rams are coming off of a Super Bowl win and paper does not play football games, so they always deserved the mantra of being the best football team in LA. That might have changed after Thursday night, though, as the Rams did not look like the same team as they were blown out by the Buffalo Bills, 31-17.
The Chargers definitely would not lose to the Bills in the same way that the Rams did.
This was more than just an ugly game for the LA Rams and there are not a lot of excuses the team can make. Sean McVay and co. had plenty of time to game plan for this game and the roster is relatively healthy. The problem for the Rams is that they showed legitimate roster concerns that may hold the team back this season.
The offensive line, particularly on the inside, looked absolutely awful and the Buffalo Bills were able to get pressure on Matthew Stafford in just about every big spot. As for Stafford himself, his elbow injury really did seem to play a role in his performance as he did not look good at all.
Even in the drives where the Rams moved down the field, they were so Cooper Kupp-heavy. As good as he is, the Rams are not going to have the same success this season if Kupp is expected to produce 75% of the offense. That simply is not sustainable.
Of course, the Chargers still have to go and prove that they are as good of a team as their roster looks on paper. That starts with a (hopeful) win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. And while a lot can happen and the NFL season is very long, it would still be very shocking if the Chargers look as bad as the Rams did on Thursday night.
The Rams have plenty of time to take the mantra back and who knows, by the time these two teams square off on New Year's Day the conversation might be completely different.
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But as it stands right now, it is hard to argue against the LA Chargers being the best football team in Los Angeles before they even play a game.