Right around kickoff in their Battle for Los Angeles against the Chargers, the Rams unofficially clinched the NFC West. It happened the moment when, 1,600 miles east in Kansas City, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo planted his left foot and lowered his shoulder along the sideline at the end of a scramble, his left knee buckling; the fear is a torn ACL. The Niners, regarded as the Rams’ greatest challenger entering this season, had also lost their second most important offensive player, tailback Jerick McKinnon, to a similar injury in a late summer practice. Now they’re a team with few skill position weapons, an improving but work-in-progress defense and no quarterback.
The Rams’ New Wrinkle, and Why the NFC West Might Already Be Won
