The Los Angeles Rams are expected to feel like visitors in their own home again and for their sake, it might not be a bad thing.
The Las Vegas Raiders are headed back to the region they once called home for 13 seasons when they face the Rams on Sunday at Inglewood, Calif.
Aside from a popularity contest, Sunday’s game matches a pair of teams off to disappointing starts with offenses in dire need of consistency, amid evolving situations at wide receiver. The Raiders and Rams are two of 11 NFL teams with an average of less than 19 points per game.
And the concerns are even more heightened on defense, where the Raiders (2-4) are tied for fifth worst in the NFL at 27.2 points allowed per game, while the Rams (1-4) are fourth worst at 27.8 per game.
The Raiders, who played in Los Angeles from 1982-94, are expected to have far more fans in the stands than the home team. But the Rams experienced a similar unbalance earlier this season and came away with their only win of the season when they turned a late rally into a 27-24 home victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3.
The injury-plagued Rams have yet to put their projected starting offense on the field this season. Wide receiver Puka Nacua (knee) has not played since Week 1, while fellow wideout Cooper Kupp (ankle) last played in Week 2 but practiced Wednesday in limited fashion.
“(Kupp) knows what it looks like to have his body in alignment with return to performance, not just return to play, and so we do want to be smart with that,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay, whose team is coming off its bye week but has to take into consideration a game next Thursday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Los Angeles has been dealing with injuries on the offensive line since the preseason, with Joe Noteboom (ankle) and Steve Avila (knee) still on the mend. Noteboom was limited Wednesday, while Avila remains on injured reserve.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has averaged 247.6 yards per game, 11th best in the NFL, but has just three touchdown passes in five games and has been sacked 16 times behind a makeshift line.
The Raiders moved away from Gardner Minshew last week and went to Aidan O’Connell at quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But Las Vegas had its second-lowest point total of the season in a 32-13 home loss.
O’Connell’s 227 yards passing against the Steelers were more than Minshew had in each of the past three weeks.
Tom Brady did join the fold this week, but the seven-time Super Bowl champion is on board with what is believed to be a five-percent ownership stake and not to get under center.
O’Connell is set to start again this week to guide an offense that has moved away from wide receiver Davante Adams, after he was traded to the New York Jets for a third-round draft pick. Adams did not play the past three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Adams had 18 receptions for 209 yards and one touchdown over the first three games. Without him the past three games, Brock Bowers had 19 receptions for 187 yards and one TD.
Jakobi Meyers, considered the Raiders’ top wideout in Adams’ stead, did not play Sunday with an ankle injury and remained out of practice Wednesday. Head coach Antonio Pierce is hopeful Meyers will play Sunday.
“I think all of these guys who had a smaller role now understand their role is bigger,” Pierce said Wednesday about the effect of the Adams trade. “… You never replace an All-Pro receiver like Davonte but at the end of the day, we’re not trying to. We’re trying to be the best version of ourselves.”
Also missing practice for Las Vegas on Wednesday were defensive end Maxx Crosby (ankle), linebackers Tommy Eichenberg (quad) and Kana’i Mauga (knee), tackle Kolton Miller (knee, shoulder), guard Dylan Parham (foot), defensive tackle John Jenkins (illness) and cornerback Jack Jones (illness).
