With Myles Garrett Back, Rams Finally Field (Most Of) Superteam

LANDOVER, Md.—The Rams had their would-be Dream Team on the field Sunday at Northwest Stadium, or at least the closest version to it that they’ve had all season.

Myles Garrett made his return from knee surgery to join Aaron Donald for the first time on the Rams’ defense, giving that unit an imposing duo with a combined five NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and total estimated career NFL earnings of $368.4 million, according to Spotrac.

On offense, quarterback Matthew Stafford, the NFL’s reigning MVP, was throwing passes to standout wide receiver Puka Nacua. This was the way it was supposed to be when the Rams made an offseason trade with the Browns to get Garrett, welcomed back Donald from retirement and entered the season as the unquestioned Super Bowl favorite in a bid to reprise their “Fuck Them Picks” championship run in the 2021 season.

The result Sunday was a 20–13 win over the Commanders that continued the Rams’ recent resurgence in an unexpectedly inconsistent season. Garrett had three sacks while playing in his first game since the season opener.

“It was a weight off my shoulders, just getting back to who I am,” he said in the Rams’ locker room afterward. “I’m nowhere near where I want to be, as far as like my performance and the things I know I can do and how I can move. But this is a confidence booster.”

The down side for the Rams was that Nacua, who had 14 catches Sunday, reportedly suffered a knee injury on their final offensive play and will undergo an MRI exam Monday.

The Rams were playing Sunday without wide receiver Davante Adams, who’s sidelined by a hamstring injury. Cornerback Trent McDuffie was on the game-day inactive list because of a back injury. But Garrett’s return still made this a move at least temporarily in the direction of having the team’s group of mega-stars more intact than not.

“Pretty incredible stuff,” Stafford said of Garrett’s performance. “Just a big-time player, obviously. You know, [he] has proven himself so many times in this league. … I’m just happy for him that he feels good enough to go out there and be himself.”

Garrett said he “felt rusty as hell in the first half” but he “knew I was gonna get it back for us.” He was asked about being the “closer” for the Rams’ defense in game-deciding moments.

“I am that closer,” Garrett said. “So we don’t need to look any further. … Because I was born that. Some people got it. Some people don’t. … I was born with that.”

Donald was held without a sack in his first game alongside Garrett.

“Every time I got close, he got the ball out,” he said. “But it’s all good. We got a good win.”

The truth about the Rams’ roster-construction methods never has exactly matched their reputation. They actually draft very well in the later rounds, even while they often have traded premium selections. They don’t simply outspend everyone else in the league to accumulate stars. They rank seventh among NFL teams this season in cash spending on their player payroll at $360.7 million, according to Spotrac.

Still, their offseason trades for Garrett and McDuffie, along with Donald’s comeback, raised the stakes considerably. One columnist predicted an undefeated season.

The undefeated run ended rather quickly—in the season opener, in fact, in Australia. The Rams made an ill-fated decision to make the long journey around the globe to Melbourne just before the game and gave a dud of a performance in a loss to the 49ers. Donald didn’t play in that game. Garrett did play but underwent arthroscopic knee surgery soon thereafter.

The Rams lost two of their first three and four of their first six games. They have not been anything close to a juggernaut. But they’re regrouping. They’ve won three straight games and have pushed their record above .500, at 5–4. They still could be the NFC’s representative when Super Bowl LXI is played on Feb. 14 on their home field at SoFi Stadium.

Longtime NFL agent Leigh Steinberg told Front Office Sports last week that it was too soon to give up on the Rams.

It’s too early in the season to conclude that it didn’t work because when Myles Garrett comes back, if he plays the way he plays, the Rams will go on a run,” Steinberg said.

The Rams won on a day when the Commanders retired the No. 44 jersey of an all-time franchise great, running back John Riggins.

Commanders owner Josh Harris said during a pregame “Salute to Service” event at the stadium: “And lastly, we’ve got to go kick the butt of the Rams and get closer to first place in the NFC East. So let’s go.”

Instead, the Rams got a little bit closer to being the team they were supposed to be all along.

“It was a total team win,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We’ll take it. There’s no style points. There’s a lot that we can learn from, to be able to clean up. But finding a way is ultimately what it’s about.”