Sean McVay’s failure to address elephant in room may derail Super Bowl hopes

The Rams have assembled a roster capable of taking them all the way to the Super Bowl.

It would help if their special teams stopped leaving banana peels along the route.

Sunday’s escape in Philadelphia offered another reminder that, for all their offensive firepower and defensive talent, Los Angeles remains capable of sabotaging themselves in the few seconds between one unit leaving the field and another arriving.

The Rams survived it against the Eagles.

But they should be careful about interpreting that as permission to keep trying.

There is a substantial difference between barely overcoming your own mistakes against a wounded, struggling opponent and beating a championship contender while handing it free yards, extra opportunities and favorable field position.

The Buffalo Bills, who visit SoFi Stadium on Monday night, would be happy to demonstrate.

“We need better,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

They needed better last season, too. That is what makes this so maddening.

The Rams changed coaches. They changed personnel. They had every reason to approach special teams with the urgency reserved for a problem that had already helped wreck a championship opportunity.

Yet here they are again, with a unit that continues to be anything but special.

Sunday’s inventory was familiar.

Britain Covey returned a punt 41 yards to the Rams’ 17, setting up an Eagles touchdown two plays later. Harrison Mevis, who helped stabilize the Rams kick game last year, missed a 48-yard field goal that would have cut a 10-point deficit to seven. Then, after the Rams finally pulled within three late in the fourth quarter, Mevis kicked out of bounds, handing Philadelphia possession at its own 40.

The defense rescued them.

That does not make the mistake less alarming.

Neither did the return game provide much relief. A second-quarter punt Bachman allowed to bounce was downed at the Rams’ 4, leaving the offense backed against its goal line. Later, a holding penalty wiped away valuable return yardage.

Each problem asks somebody else to clean up the mess.

An offense must travel farther. A defense must defend less grass. A quarterback must manufacture another late escape.

Eventually, even good teams run out of answers.

“Obviously, I would have loved for us to have made that field goal kick, and then the long punt return is not good,” McVay said. “We have to do a better job of casting a net, being able to tackle.”

These are basic requirements for a team with Super Bowl ambitions.

Nobody is demanding a touchdown on every return. Catch the ball. Make sound decisions. Block without drawing a flag. Maintain coverage lanes. Finish tackles. Keep kickoffs inside the field.

Give the rest of this talented roster a fair starting point.

The warning signs preceded Philadelphia.

Against Denver, Xavier Smith fielded a punt at his own goal line and returned it only to the 10. The Rams went three-and-out, then surrendered a 28-yard punt return that positioned the Broncos at the Los Angeles 42. Smith was waived before the Eagles game, with Bachman taking over.

Different returner. Continuing concerns.

McVay was careful to distribute responsibility Sunday.

“There are 11 moving parts on every single snap,” he said.

He credited Bachman’s ball security and pointed toward inadequate blocking around him.

“I think there can be some better perimeter play to give him some freedom to be able to get some things going,” McVay said.

Fair enough. Accountability should extend beyond whoever happens to be holding the football.

But the entire operation belongs to the Rams, and their recent history makes patience a difficult sell.

Last December, they led Seattle 30-14 in the fourth quarter before Rashid Shaheed’s 58-yard punt-return touchdown helped ignite the Seahawks’ comeback in a 38-37 overtime victory. That loss swung control of the division race toward Seattle, which ultimately secured the division and home-field advantage.

The consequences followed the Rams into January.

In the NFC championship game, Smith muffed a punt after the defense forced a stop to open the second half. Seattle recovered, and Sam Darnold threw a 17-yard touchdown to Jake Bobo on the next play. The Rams lost 31-27. That donated touchdown loomed over the difference between Seattle going to the Super Bowl and Los Angeles going home.

That should be enough motivation to demand lasting improvement.

Especially now.

The Rams have Matthew Stafford, elite receiving talent and a defense awaiting reinforcements in Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald. Their best football should still be ahead of them.

But neither returning star can fix a missed field goal or erase a return penalty.

Those repairs must come from within the unit creating the problems.

Against Josh Allen and Buffalo, the Rams cannot reasonably expect to beat a potent opponent while repeatedly making its job easier.

Sunday bought them a victory. It did not buy them an exemption from consequences.

Unless they fix this, as surely as the 405 will turn a short drive into an afternoon commitment, their special teams will make them pay again.