The Rams got a break on one side of the ball this week. Arizona ruled out Jeremiyah Love, and that gives Los Angeles a cleaner path against a run game that has already been a problem area for the Rams.
But the matchup relief is only part of the picture.
For a second straight week, the Rams’ final injury report is thankfully sparse, yet the bigger issue is what sits behind that clean-looking report: a defense that can still be stressed if Trent McDuffie’s groin issue lingers, and an offense that keeps asking Matthew Stafford to carry too much of the load.
Love’s absence matters because of what he was supposed to provide Arizona. He played last week against the Lions and managed 22 yards on 12 carries, then was ruled out Sunday against the Rams in Los Angeles by coach Mike LaFleur.
“Jeremiyah Love will not play Sunday against the Rams in Los Angeles,” LaFleur said Friday.
Love originally sprained his right ankle in his only preseason game, against the Raiders on Oct. 13, 2026, and Arizona has not discussed putting him on injured reserve. The Cardinals are still treating the injury as something they hope is short-term, but for this week at least, the Rams get a favorable turn in the matchup.
That should matter to a defense that has struggled against the run. It also should not be mistaken for a full fix.
McDuffie was a late addition to the injury report after tweaking his groin in practice, and he sat out Friday’s session. His status for Sunday is now in jeopardy, which matters because the Rams may need him against a Cardinals offense that can still test the secondary even without Love. If McDuffie can’t go, Josh Wallace would be in line to replace him as the second starter on the outside, based on how the Rams handled Jaylen Watson’s absence in Weeks 3 and 4.
That is the kind of thin margin the Rams keep living with: one injury on the opponent’s side can help, but one injury on their own can quickly change the shape of the game.
The same thing is true on offense, where Stafford’s workload keeps growing. He has thrown the ball 50 or more times in each of the past three games, and the Rams are 1-2 in those games. He is also leading the league in passing yards, but the volume is the point — and the concern.
The Rams are on track for Stafford to throw 734 passes in 2026, a pace that reflects just how often the offense is leaning on him. Teams that pass 50 or more times in a game were 1-8 entering Week 5, a reminder that this kind of script has not been a reliable one for anyone. Brian Baldinger has pointed to that trend, and the Rams have already lived through the downside of it.
They abandoned the run in Weeks 3 and 5 and lost both games.
That is what makes the Cardinals’ injury report feel like only a partial answer. Yes, Arizona being without Love gives the Rams a better chance to control one part of the game. But Los Angeles still has to manage its own secondary, and it still has to decide whether Stafford can keep absorbing this kind of passing load without the offense becoming too one-dimensional.
The Rams have the pieces to run the ball, with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum available, and they have averaged 4.6 yards per carry, which ranks 10th in the league. Yet that strength has not always shown up in the game plan. Instead, the Rams have repeatedly drifted toward Stafford volume, even when the results have not justified it.
So Sunday’s matchup offers both things at once: a break against Arizona’s run game, and another reminder that the Rams’ own balance remains unsettled. One opponent injury can make the path easier for a week. It does not change how much Los Angeles is asking of Stafford, or how quickly the defense can become vulnerable if the secondary loses another piece.