Coming into the 2026-2027 season, the Los Angeles Rams, a team worth $13.5 billion per Forbes, were considered favorites to win the Super Bowl. The team brought in defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, top defensive end Aaron Donald returned, and the team still has Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and more. However, the team just lost to the Arizona Cardinals 18-16, falling to 2-4, and has not lived up to the preseason hype so far.

During his Speakeasy podcast, former Philadelphia Eagles star Emmanuel Acho questioned all that Rams hype, called the team fraudulent, and called out the team’s defensive struggles.

“Frauds! The Rams are frauds,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a more fraudulent team than the 2026 Los Angeles Rams. Defense, not good enough, especially for the names. Aaron Donald is back, and he made some significant plays, but again, you cannot allow the Arizona Cardinals to have 338 total yards. You cannot allow the Cardinals to possess the ball for nearly 35 minutes. That suggests your offense can only possess the ball for 25 minutes.”

The Arizona Cardinals had more passing yards against the Los Angeles Rams during that game, with 218 to L.A.’s 194. In the rushing game, the Cardinals also did better, with 120 rushing yards as compared to the Rams’ 92. While Stafford had been more efficient than Brissett, scoring two touchdowns to Brissett’s zero, the result spoke for itself as the Cards escaped with a two-point win.

Sean McVay Decries Los Angeles Rams’ Many Mistakes During Loss vs. Cardinals

After the game, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke with reporters and lamented the many unforced errors the team had against Arizona, admitting that they still have a lot of things to figure out.

“We won’t win a game unless we figure out how to not beat ourselves,” he stated. “Just so many unforced errors, so many things that are not in alignment with what we want to do, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. Give up a big return to start. Lose the kicker covering on that kickoff coverage, and that comes out for a big gain. We didn’t do enough. I thought our defense did enough to keep us in the game, but anytime we’d string a little bit of momentum, we’d turn it over, take a negative, we’d jump offsides on a 4th-and-3 to put it to a 4th-and-8. We have a lot to look at ourselves on, and we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to improve.”

Among the many mistakes were not opting to kick the extra point and going for a two-point conversion. They also struggled in stopping kicker Chad Ryland, who scored all 18 of Arizona’s points, kicking six field goals against the Rams.