Written by Alden Gonzalez at ESPN.com
The defense, without quite possibly the NFL’s best defensive player, returned two interceptions for touchdowns and didn’t allow a single first down. The offense, the NFL’s worst each of the past two seasons, flowed in near-perfect harmony, exceeding 30 points before the midway point of the third quarter and finishing with nearly 50.
A new day, indeed, for the Los Angeles Rams.
Playing at home, against an undermanned Indianapolis Colts team, the Rams were dominant, impressive, fun — and, through that, unrecognizable. They won 46-9 on Sunday, and in the process, they scored more points than they did at any point in 2015 or 2016. A defense led by Wade Phillips, one of the most successful coordinators in NFL history, held a Scott Tolzien-led Colts offense to 225 net yards. An offense led by Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, gained 373 yards, 14 shy of last year’s season high.
It went down as the most points the Rams had scored in a season opener in the Super Bowl era.
McVay merely called it “a step in the right direction,” but it felt more like the beginning of something bigger.
Jared Goff was calm and collected, operating behind a clean pocket and going 21-of-29 for 306 yards and a touchdown on a turnover-free day to capture his first NFL win. Todd Gurley ran hard inside and made some nice moves in space, gaining 96 yards from scrimmage and breaking several tackles for a touchdown despite some struggles in run blocking. The receivers were constantly open, with Cooper Kupp (four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown), Sammy Watkins (five catches for 58 yards) and Robert Woods (three catches for 53 yards) leading the way.
“With the additions that we’ve made and everything we’ve done in the offseason, that’s how it’s set up,” Goff said. “There should be playmakers on the outside, and there was today.”
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