Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next after the Rams’ 31-14 setback against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, which gave them eight consecutive regular-season losses to their NFC West rivals and dropped their record to 3-4:
KUPP UPDATE
Rams coach Sean McVay said star receiver Cooper Kupp avoided structural damage with his ankle injury, and he expects him to play in this week’s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kupp injured his ankle on the third to last play with the Rams trailing the 49ers by 17 points.
“Lateral soft tissue swelling in that ankle,” McVay told reporters Monday. “I think he’s going to be OK. You guys all know how tough he is. Really, just kinda managing that swelling, but fortunately, there wasn’t anything structurally wrong, and so that’s very positive news for us.”
McVay said the plan is for Kupp to miss Wednesday’s practice and have him be a limited participant the rest of the week.
“If we are able to manage it like we expect and anticipate, we do expect him to be able to play, but that will be something that I’ll have updates on as the week goes on,” McVay said.
McVay said he told Kupp on the field while Kupp limped off that he regretted calling a passing play with the game out of reach and only 1:18 left in regulation. Kupp told reporters in the locker room after the loss that he appreciated McVay’s comments, but he had no hard feelings toward his coach.
“In hindsight, if you said, ‘Would you do it differently?’ One hundred percent I would,” McVay said. “I made a lot of mistakes and I would do that one differently if I had a chance to do it again and not even leave him possibly exposed to that hit.”
MENTAL MELTDOWN
The Rams let their frustrations get the best of them after losing their 14-10 halftime lead late in the third quarter against the 49ers.
Wide receiver Allen Robinson got hit with a 15-yard taunting penalty for getting in the face of 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Ernest Jones also lost 15 yards because of an unnecessary roughness penalty after a catch by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who frustrated the Rams by scoring three touchdowns.
Also, tight end Tyler Higbee slammed his helmet on the ground after a dropped pass on a pivotal third down, and cornerback Jalen Ramsey didn’t hide his frustrations after shoving multiple 49ers and getting into an argument with rookie teammate Derion Kendrick on the sideline.
“It’s an emotional game,” McVay said about his players losing their cool. “That can’t happen, but clearly we got outplayed in the second half. This is an emotional game. Tempers can run hot in those types of situations.”
Rams defensive lineman Greg Gaines said the eight-game regular-season losing skid to the 49ers played a factor in why the team lost its composure with only a three-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
“There’s a little history there, for sure,” Gaines said. “We play those guys two, three times a year and they’re a really physical outfit. Whenever you get two really physical teams going against each other, there’s just that little bit of tension, for sure, because everyone is trying their hardest and you win some, you lose some. You get mad, they get mad. It’s just definitely an interesting dynamic out there.”
McVay said after the latest loss to the 49ers that history had nothing to do with their second-half collapse, but it’s obvious that the regular-season losing streak contributed to their frustrations and it’s starting to become a mental weight on the field.
The Rams got the best of the 49ers when it mattered most during last postseason’s NFC championship game, but they’ll need to deal with that mental burden again next regular season when they face their rivals from up north.
“It sucks losing to a team eight times in the regular season,” Gaines said. “I haven’t really been on the bad side of a rivalry in my life. It’s tough for sure. We just gotta move forward to the next game. We can’t sit and dwell on something like that.”
RIVERS GETS THE START
Undrafted rookie running back Ronnie Rivers surprisingly got the start over veteran Darrell Henderson in Sunday’s loss.
McVay said Monday it was because Henderson had breathing issues after dealing with the flu for most of the week.
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Rivers, the Fresno State product who joined the Rams’ practice squad last month, had eight carries for 21 yards, as the team struggled to find a productive ground game against the 49ers’ stout defense. The Rams were held to 56 rushing yards.
NEXT UP
The Rams missed on drastically upgrading their running back position after the 49ers landed McCaffrey in a blockbuster trade, but the Rams still have until 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday to improve their roster with trades.
“So much of it is not exclusive to the position, but it’s also the player that’s involved as well,” McVay said after being asked if there’s a position the team is looking to improve via trades. “When you look at some of the different scenarios that have come up for us, these have been pretty special players that have presented opportunities for us to aggressively pursue with a long-term vision.”
The Rams aren’t only searching to acquire players because they’ve spent the past two weeks looking to move running back Cam Akers to another team.
“It’s something that we’ll work through and probably won’t have the finality to that until the next 48 hours,” McVay said about potentially trading Akers, who was sent home for “in-house” reasons before the bye week. “That’s a very fluid situation. There’s really no news to update on that.”
The Rams could have a new-look roster after the trade deadline and as they prepare to face the Buccaneers in a rematch of last postseason’s thrilling divisional playoff game.