The Rams may have just needed a change in continent.
The preseason Super Bowl favorites briefly surrendered that status after going to Australia in Week 1 and falling flat against their NFC West rivals, the 49ers. Playing in Melbourne, the Rams lost the time of possession battle 36 minutes to 24, gained fewer than 300 yards of offense, and lost a 27-7 decision.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn, and you know, sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that put you in a bad spot,” coach Sean McVay cracked last week. He could afford to be lighthearted because the Rams had just righted the ship on Monday Night Football, shellacking the visiting Giants by a nearly equivalent score of 28-6. MVP Matthew Stafford looked like himself, legendary defensive tackle Aaron Donald rejoined the lineup, and all was well again in Los Angeles.
Another challenge awaits in Denver, where the Broncos rebounded from their own Week 1 disaster (a 31-10 loss to the Chiefs) to beat a solid Jaguars team last Sunday. Last year’s top seed in the AFC playoffs, the Broncos have QB Bo Nix back from a right ankle fracture suffered during that run. The two teams will get together at Mile High for their first meeting since a 51-14 Rams rout in December 2022.
Rams at Broncos
Time: 8.20pm ET/1.20am BST
Stadium: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver, Colorado)
How to watch
United States: Watch on NBC or Peacock; Stream on Fubo
Canada: Watch on TSN1/3/4/5 & CTV; Stream on Fubo
United Kingdom: Watch on Sky Sports Main Event
What to watch for
Nix is back, but the Broncos need him to find his sea legs. Through two weeks, a tiny sample, Nix is 26th in the NFL in passer rating and 24th in adjusted net yards per attempt. He’s thrown an interception in both of his games. But his stats are mainly weighed down by a horrendous Week 1, and Nix may have found something (or someone) important in Week 2: Newly acquired wideout Jaylen Waddle took off like a missile and caught eight balls on 10 targets for 138 yards. Waddle appears to be ready to take the No 1 receiver role from one of the team’s longtime stars, the consistent Courtland Sutton.
The Rams will expect the usual excellence from Stafford and the offense. A fascinating subplot will be Donald, the future first-ball Hall of Famer who returned on the defensive line last week after being retired during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Donald played 33 snaps as he worked his way back into game condition, and now he gets to play a game in Denver’s thin air. He made one solo tackle (and one tackle for loss) in his return game. One would expect it to only be up from here for the 35-year-old.
