The Los Angeles Rams are facing growing concerns over their special teams after an 18-16 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals left Sean McVay's side with a 2-4 record.
Los Angeles lost kicker Blake Grupe to a knee injury during the game, raising the possibility that the team could need another replacement after releasing Harrison Mevis following his missed kick against the Buffalo Bills.
The latest setback has added to the pressure on a Rams team that entered the season with Super Bowl ambitions but has struggled to find consistency.
According toThe Athletic's Nate Atkins, the Rams are becoming increasingly nervous about their special teams unit as the problems continue to mount.
"The problems are just so widespread that it can be hard to know where to start," Atkins wrote. "The kicking game is chief among them, because the Rams could need a third starting kicker if Grupe's knee injury is serious, after Grupe replaced the waived Harrison Mevis last week."

#grupe #mevis #kicker

This year, there were upwards of 100 NFL players on active rosters or practice squads during the preseason with an Indiana connection in either high school or college. Here's how those players did in the NFL's final week of preseason play.
Top performances
Harrison Mevis, K, Los Angeles Rams, made 2 of 2 field-goal attempts and made 2 of 2 extra-point attempts. Los Angeles Rams 20, Los Angeles Chargers 18.
Indiana connection: Warsaw Community High School
Other player appearances

#angeles #Rams #attempts

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Los Angeles Chargers by a final score of 20-18 in Week 3 of the NFL preseason. Though the Rams began with the ball on offense, and Ty Simpson perhaps threw the best ball of his career in this contest, the story of the game more or less begins with Justin Herbert, and some other notable Chargers taking the field in this preseason matchup.
The Chargers wanted to see parts of their first team offense as they gear up for Week 1. It started about as poorly as it could for the former team out of San Diego. Herbert bobbled his second snap as the Rams defense came away with the takeaway.
Safety Nick Andersen, who's had a nice preseason, made the recovery, and it was a thrilling moment for the defensive unit full of backups and fringe players. The Rams scored a field goal on the turnover as the Chargers defense, also playing with some expected starters, stopped the Rams on a fourth and goal.
Before you could wonder if the Chargers and their offense were in serious trouble, Herbert showed that his regular season should be just fine when he found Quentin Johnston for a 65-yard TD strike. At that point, Jim Harbugh and Mike McDaniel had seen enough from Herbert who went to the sidelines with his one fumble, one touchdown day.
Simpson played the entire first half, and opened the game failing to score a touchdown on his first couple drives, but Simpson did lead the team to a Harrison Mevis field goal before flashing on an 11-yard touchdown throw that should get plenty of media coverage on Friday.

#field #first #team

All eyes were on Ty Simpson for his NFL debut on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the first preseason action for the Los Angeles Rams' top pick in the 2026 draft, giving fans a glimpse at what the future could hold once Matthew Stafford retires.
Simpson entered the game against the Chiefs at the end of the first quarter after Stetson Bennett played two possessions, much to the excitement of the Rams' faithful around the country. Though there were probably some pre-game jitters for the rookie quarterback, the moment certainly didn't look too big for him.
His first completion was a 7-yard dump-off to Max Klare on a roll-out to his right, getting the ball into the hands of a fellow rookie. It wasn't a highlight-reel play, but he took what the defense gave him, and that was an easy completion.
Simpson was just 1-for-2 on his first drive, which was a brief one that ended in a punt, but he found a rhythm on the second drive. He went 4-for-4 for 41 yards during drive No. 2, capping it off with a Harrison Mevis field goal from 40 yards to put the Rams up, 6-3.
His best throw on the drive was a 23-yarder to Mark Redman, once again on a boot out to his right. He layered the ball nicely to the tight end for a big gain.

#first #rookie #ball

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Kansas City Chiefs by a final score of 20-9 in their preseason Week 1 matchup. It was a low-scoring affair for about three quarters until the Rams pulled away with multiple touchdowns late with passing scores from Ty Simpson to running back Dean Connors.
The running back room as a whole looked solid today, credit the blocking, but it was Connors who had the two scores to really put the game out of reach.
Stetson Bennett went 4-6 for 38 yards, and he started on Saturday, but it was Simpson who was given the longer leash as he went 21-25 with 190 yards and two passing TDs. He looked comfortable often, he took what was there, he let his receivers run after the catch, he opened up on couple throws late in the game to Max Clare and CJ Daniels.
Simpson looked and played like the best quarterback on the field today.
Throw in L.A.'s defense holding their ground by bending with some field goals allowed, but they kept KC out of the endzone (the Chiefs did have a few penalties to take away what would've been scores). L.A.'s special teams looked solid with Xavier Smith having a nice showing in the return game (no fumbles). Ethan Evans got his punts off and Harrison Mevis made his kicks with 2 field goals and 2 extra points.

#field #Rams

Liam Thompson threw seven touchdown passes, including the winning score in overtime, to lead the Green Bay Blizzard past the Tulsa Oilers 67-60 and into the Indoor Football League championship game.
The Blizzard rallied to force overtime on a game-tying field goal by Andrew Mevis that hit the wire before deflecting through the uprights on the final play of the fourth quarter.
The victory gives Green Bay the Eastern Conference championship for the second straight season. The Blizzard lost to the Vegas Knight Hawks in last year's IFL championship game.
Tulsa nearly completed the upset as Oilers quarterback TJ Edwards II threw four TD passes and ran for two more scores. The Oilers took a 60-57 lead with 1:01 left on Caleb Ramseur's second rushing touchdown of the game.
The Blizzard then methodically worked the clock before settling for the tying field goal from Mevis to force OT.

#Oilers #championship

The 2026 Indoor Football League season is hurdling toward its finish. With just a few games left before a champion is crowned, the league decided to roll out its annual awards.
It should come as little surprise that Tulsa Drillers quarterback TJ Edwards took home first-team All-IFL honors. Edwards racked up 60 touchdown passes and 20 rushing touchdowns while leading his team to a 12-5 record.
Pooka Williams, meanwhile, earned two spots on the first team — as a running back and a kick returner. Williams finished second in the league with 665 rushing yards and added 22 rushing touchdowns for the Orlando Pirates. He also scored four touchdowns on kickoffs, making him the most dangerous returner in the league.
Here's how the rest of the IFL awards shook out:
• QB - TJ Edwards II, Tulsa
• RB - Pooka Williams, Orlando
• WR - Jerminic Smith Sr., Tulsa
• WR - Arland Bruce, Arizona
• WR - Ka'Ron Ashley, San Antonio
• C - Jalen Booth, San Diego
• OL - Kristopher Stroughter, Arizona
• OL - LaQuinston Sharp, Jackonville
• K - Andrew Mevis, Green Bay
• KR - Pooka Williams, Orlando

#pooka #team #touchdowns

DES MOINES — In the Indoor Football League, the math of a touchdown is typically straightforward: six points for the score and one for the kick. But for Andrew Mevis, a touchdown often results in a nine-point swing.
On Saturday, Mevis put that unique arithmetic on display during a 65-21 victory against the Iowa Barnstormers.
By converting on deuces — an IFL rule where a kickoff sent through the uprights earns two points — Mevis added an extra layer of dominance to the Blizzard's approach to game day.
He recorded three deuces in the win, as well as eight PATs and an 18-yard field goal. "It's a lot of fun," Mevis said. "Every touchdown we do that, we get nine [points total], so it's pretty sweet."
The victory pushed the Green Bay Blizzard to a 13-2 record, officially locking them in as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. It also solidified Mevis's position as the league's premier scoring threat; through 15 games, he leads the IFL with 153 total points, 92 successful PATs and 11 field goals. While Mevis is currently a focal point of the league's top-seeded team, his path to the professional ranks began a decade ago on the high school fields of Indiana.

Kickers don't get the love that other position players do, but in the NFL, they're often the difference between wins and losses. The Los Angeles Rams know that all too well, losing multiple games last season because their kicker wasn't good enough.
Harrison Mevis has taken over as the team's kicker after replacing Joshua Karty last year, aiming to reward the Rams for their confidence in him last year. The "Thiccer Kicker," as he's been nicknamed, is a crucial piece of the Rams' puzzle and their new-look special teams unit, coming in at No. 21 on our list of the most important players.
The Rams gave Mevis a shot last year after Joshua Karty's struggles became a major problem. They signed Mevis to the practice squad in November and he was immediately elevated to the game-day roster against the 49ers.
Two weeks after landing on the practice squad, Mevis was signed to the active roster and remained the Rams' kicker for the rest of the season.
This offseason, the Rams tendered Mevis as an exclusive rights free agent, keeping him at the low cost of $1 million for one year.