The Rams and Broncos enter Sunday night with their uncertainty concentrated in different places: Los Angeles is bracing for a likely absence at receiver, while Denver’s backfield is still waiting on final answers.
Puka Nacua is listed as doubtful for the Rams’ Week 3 trip to Denver after not practicing Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. That puts Los Angeles in position to open the game without one of its top receiving options, with Sean McVay saying he expects Nacua to be good to go next week against the Eagles if there is no setback.
Denver’s situation is less settled. Rookie running back Jonah Coleman has been ruled out for the game against the Rams after three straight days of missed practice because of an ankle injury. But the Broncos also have two other running backs, RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins, who have not been assigned game statuses for the matchup.
That leaves the game with a clear contrast in how the two teams are entering it. The Rams have a receiver whose status is already leaning one way. The Broncos have one back definitively unavailable and two more whose availability still has not been resolved.
For Los Angeles, the question is how much of the passing game can be carried if Nacua is unavailable. For Denver, it is whether the backfield can be sorted out in time to give the offense a stable plan against the Rams.
The final injury report does not answer which side is better positioned to absorb the loss. It does, however, make the matchup look like a test of depth at two very different spots: receiver for the Rams, running back for the Broncos.