NFL

People who want things in the worst way generally get them in the worst way.

Behold, people of Los Angeles, your NFL franchise. The Rams. No, don’t avert your eyes. You wanted this disaster and you own it.

Rooted again in Los Angeles after a 21-year hiatus in St. Louis, the Rams have picked up where they left off. They’re abysmal.

On a Monday evening where the NFL gave us a doubleheader – the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Washington Redskins 38-16 earlier on the East Coast – it did not provide a quality opponent for the San Francisco 49ers.

Rebooting under coach Chip Kelly, known more for his fast-paced offense, the 49ers got the first season-opening shutout in franchise history, crushing the Rams 28-0 in Santa Clara, California.

It’s difficult to recall any preseason analysis that described the 49ers as defensive stone walls, so it may just be that the Rams are awful.

Consider: Their head coach, the well-liked Jeff Fisher, has not produced a winning record since 2008.

Consider: The Rams had the ball 14 times on Monday night – and punted 10 times. They also gave it up twice on interceptions. Total yardage: 185.

The Steelers accounted for a similar number of yards against the Redskins, simply by rushing. They averaged almost five yards per attempt and scored twice on their way to 147 yards. And that’s without suspended running back Le’Veon Bell.

The Redskins needed to answer two questions (and one game against a very sound opponent is a small laboratory): Is the defense better, and can quarterback Kirk Cousins beat a winning team? No, and no.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman