Streaking Rams highlight 5 teams NFL should not sleep on down the stretch

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead compared his team’s 4-4 mark to the middle of a 17-round boxing match, with two months remaining to see how things play out.

“What you did in the past really doesn’t matter,” Snead said. “It’s now going to be what you do basically each round moving forward.”

How the Rams and every other NFL team finish over the next eight weeks will determine the overall success of their season. For the Rams, they can look to last year’s impressive stretch run, in which they won seven of the last eight games to reach the playoffs, for inspiration on how to do things in this season’s second half. 

The Rams join the Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys — yes, the Cowboys — as teams that could make a run down the backstretch of this season, making things interesting for the rest of the league.

Let’s take a look at each team’s situation at the halfway point.

Los Angeles Rams (4-4)

Los Angeles sits 1.5 games behind the Green Bay Packers (6-3) for the final wild-card spot in the NFC, but only a half-game behind the Arizona Cardinals (5-4) for the top spot NFC West and an automatic berth into the postseason. 

The Rams started 3-6 last season but got hot and made the playoffs. And head coach Sean McVay is again leaning on a young roster, led by a league-high 16 rookies who have adjusted to NFL speed and are playing at a high level. First-year and second-year players have combined for 15 sacks defensively for the Rams, tops in the NFL.

[RELATED: Jayden Daniels, Rams’ NFL-best class highlight midseason All-Rookie Team]

Five of L.A.’s last nine games are at home, and only four of them are against playoff teams from last season. Four of the team’s remaining opponents have winning records.

The Rams are also getting healthy. Puka Nacua returned from an early-season knee injury. And reinforcements to the offensive line are set to return in center Jonah Jackson, guard Steven Avila and tackle Joe Noteboom. 

[RELATED: Puka Nacua among 5 key returning players for teams chasing playoffs]

Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)

After playing nose-pinching football to start the season again this year, Joe Burrow has played like an MVP candidate in helping his Bengals fight back into the postseason conversation. At 4-6, the Bengals are 1.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in the AFC behind the Denver Broncos (5-4).

Even after a 35-34 heartbreaking loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, Cincinnati has won three of its past five games. Burrow has put the Bengals on his back. Since Week 5, he has thrown for 1,694 yards and 17 touchdowns, with just three interceptions.

Fellow LSU product Ja’Marr Chase is putting up elite production as Cincinnati’s No. 1 receiver. Against the Ravens on Thursday, Chase had 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns. He now leads the league in receiving yards (981) and receiving touchdowns (10) heading into the weekend. 

If the Bengals can get more consistency from the defense, they’ll be in the playoff hunt.

Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)

There are three reasons why the arrow is pointing up for the Bolts as they chase their first postseason win since the 2018 season. No. 1 is quarterback Justin Herbert, who finally looks fully healthy and has taken over the offense.

Because of the emphasis on the running game, Herbert is quietly having an efficient season statistically, completing 65% of his passes for 1,725 yards, with 10 touchdown passes and one interception for a 101.6 rating. Herbert has attempted at least 15 passes without an interception in six straight games, setting a record for the longest such streak in franchise history.

Secondly, new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has somehow turned one of the league’s worst defenses under former head coach and defensive guru Brandon Staley into one of the best — using mostly the same personnel.

And finally, the Chargers have a legit head coach who has been to the winner’s circle before in Jim Harbaugh. During his first season as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh led them to a 13-3 record and a postseason berth.

He’s on a similar path with the Chargers. I thought the Bolts should have acquired a big-play receiver for Herbert before the trade deadline. But I also understand not stunting the growth of young receivers Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey by adding a big name to that group.

New York Jets (3-6)

New addition Davante Adams said this week that he’s getting “run-the-table-type vibes” from quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the Jets snapped a five-game losing streak in a comeback win over the Houston Texans.

Will the Jets make it two in a row on Sunday against the Cardinals? While Arizona sacked rookie Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams eight times in a blowout victory at home, the Cardinals are giving up 228 passing yards a contest, No. 24 in the league. The Jets also enter this weekend’s contest rested, after playing on Thursday last week.

As far as the rest of the season goes, New York plays just two teams with a winning record in the final eight games — the Cardinals on Sunday and the Buffalo Bills in the penultimate game of the season.

Even if the Jets turn things around, it might be too late to make the postseason. But finishing around the .500 mark could be enough to stick with Rodgers and perhaps interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich next season. 

Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

OK, hear me out. 

I know the Cowboys have lost three in a row, and the acquisition of developmental receiver Jonathan Mingo for a fourth-round pick doesn’t exactly flip the switch on a losing season. Plus, Dak Prescott could miss significant time with a hamstring injury. 

However, backup Cooper Rush has a 5-1 record as a starter dating back to the start of the 2022 season, when Prescott was also hurt. OK, the Cowboys had one of the most opportunistic defenses at that time and a running back in Tony Pollard who created balance on offense. 

But the Cowboys play four of their next five games at home, which is a good thing — except Dallas is 0-3 so far at home this season.

The one thing I believe the Cowboys can lean on is the experience of head coach Mike McCarthy in dealing with adverse situations. Along with that, the team’s best defensive player, Micah Parsons, could return from an ankle injury this week. Parsons said he believes Dallas can still make a run, based on how Rush performed as a starter previously. And according to The Athletic, the Cowboys have the eighth-easiest schedule for the second half of the season.

If they can get back to leaning on the run game, taking care of the football on offense and taking the ball away on defense, the Cowboys can at least make things interesting down the stretch. 

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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