Super Bowl favorite Rams are back in a familiar position, sitting under .500 after 5 games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have been one of the NFL's most consistent winners in their decade under coach Sean McVay.

Yet during four of the past five seasons, they've also been under .500 at this early point in the year.

The preseason Super Bowl favorites are back in that familiar October spot after falling to 2-3 with their wild, 37-34 overtime loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

History suggests there's little actual reason for Rams fans to worry yet about a team with the NFL's most productive offense and third-stingiest defense. McVay has a long history of fixing his team's early-season problems, and Los Angeles made the playoffs after two of those three previous slow starts over the past half-decade.

Yet the Rams' failures this season have many sources, and McVay has plenty of work to do.

“None of it makes me feel good right now,” McVay said after the Rams rallied to force OT against the Bills, only to be undone by Harrison Mevis' final missed field goal and Josh Allen's unstoppable scrambles.

“I’m proud of the effort, but none of how I feel is positive other than I’m proud of the resilience, the guts that our team displayed,” McVay added. “But there’s no ... I don’t even know what you want to call it. Congrats to the Bills, and I’m excited about how we move forward.”

Los Angeles’ biggest problems have been on special teams this year, and McVay took a big step toward change Tuesday by cutting Mevis and signing Blake Grupe, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

Yet Mevis, who has missed a league-high four field goal attempts this season, wasn't responsible for the Bills' 70-yard kickoff return to open the game. He also wasn't the blocker who allowed Greg Rousseau to get a hand on Mevis' overtime field goal attempt.

Aside from special teams, the Rams aren't in terrible shape — despite their record.

Their offense leads the league with 424.4 yards per game after topping the league last season — although the Rams' scoring has declined from an NFL-best 30.5 points per game last season to just 23.8 this year, largely because of their seven-point Melbourne debacle.

LA's defense ranks third in the NFL with 285.2 yards per game allowed, and that's with no impact from reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

Matthew Stafford spammed the Puka Nacua button against the Bills for a whopping 24 targets, and the All-Pro receiver responded with a career-high 17 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. Davante Adams added two more TD receptions after leading the league last season. The Rams' passing attack remains the NFL's most productive, and running back Kyren Williams has emerged as a force with 27 receptions already, just nine shy of his career high for a season.

Another major problem developed after the game when left tackle Alaric Jackson punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb during the postgame jersey exchanges. Jackson, who is already under league scrutiny for an offseason arrest, is likely to face a suspension — and the Rams don’t have a solid backup for the most important position on their offensive line, possibly relying on 36-year-old David Quessenberry, who has barely played in the NFL since 2023.

Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson have been just as good as the Rams hoped when they added the Kansas City duo in the offseason. Watson had one interception and nearly made another against the Bills, while McDuffie's assigned receivers weren't even targeted once by Allen. The Rams held Buffalo to 210 yards passing, with 128 of that coming on just three catch-and-runs.

Allen is a nightmare for most defenses, but he ran all over the Rams and exposed their weaknesses at linebacker. Nate Landman forced two fumbles with his famed Peanut Punch, but he was no match for Allen in the open field. Quentin Lake had a poor game in coverage at nickel back, and the Rams missed too many tackles overall.

Garrett is now eligible to return to practice four weeks after his knee surgery, but the Rams have given no indication he's ready to do that.

5 — The number of kickers the Rams have employed since they allowed Super Bowl winner Matt Gay to walk in free agency in early 2022. Gay made a franchise-best 92% of his field goal attempts in a horned helmet, and none of his first four replacements has done better than 79%.

The Rams’ schedule is about as friendly as possible for a midseason rally: Their next six opponents before December are a combined 8-16-1, and they play the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals twice, including Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum celebrates a first down during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, left, goes in for a touchdown as Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard defends during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford reacts during a news conference after the Buffalo Bills defeated the Los Angeles Rams in an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, right, talks with down judge Brian Sakowski during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)

Grocery store chain Kroger said it will lay off 3,000 corporate employees over the next three years as it ramps up its use of artificial intelligence to streamline operations.

“Technology is reshaping what’s possible,” CEO Greg Foran wrote in a memo to employees on Monday. “The way work gets done is changing across every industry; we must adapt and take advantage of technology. We need to adopt capabilities, reduce duplicative work and look closely at where work is best fit to be done.”

Kroger last month outlined its AI strategy, meant “to improve the customer experience, make work easier for associates and produce better business outcomes.”

Cincinnati-based Kroger is the largest standalone U.S. supermarket chain with 409,000 employees and more than 2,700 stores operating under various brands, including Ralphs, King Soopers, Smith’s and Fred Meyer.

Kroger named former Walmart executive Foran CEO in February, 11 months after the abrupt resignation of its previous CEO.

Foran has a reputation for being tech-savvy and detail-oriented. He led Walmart’s U.S. division from 2014 to 2019, where he focused on cleaning up stores, ensuring items were in stock and improving the fresh produce selection. He also introduced online ordering and pickup, and accelerated Walmart’s digital capabilities.

Walmart has become a larger challenge to Kroger and other traditional grocers as Americans increasingly pick up their groceries along with other general goods that Walmart sells.

Kroger has also felt pressure from fast-growing discount chains like Aldi and Lidl and online behemoths like Amazon.

Kroger proposed a merger with Albertsons in 2022 as a way to better compete with its rivals. But the Federal Trade Commission and two states — Washington and Colorado — sued to block the merger in 2024, saying it would raise prices and lower workers’ wages by eliminating competition. Judges ultimately ruled that the merger should not proceed.

A day after their merger collapsed, Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value.

Kroger said the claims were “baseless” and that Albertsons was not entitled to the fee.

Albertsons is facing the same competitive headwinds as Kroger and other grocery chains as customers turn to cheaper alternatives and faster delivery from bigger retailers.

On Tuesday during its second-quarter earnings conference call with investors, CEO Susan Morris alluded to further cost-cutting and streamlining of the company's structure, including layoffs.

“We did some work last year and saw a substantial reduction in headcount, but quite frankly, there’s more to be had," Morris said. "And you’ll see us taking aggressive action there in the next 12 to 18 months as well.”

Kroger shares fell 2.2% in afternoon trading Tuesday, to $61.21. Albertsons rose 2.8% but its shares are down more than 25% this year.

FILE - A Kroger grocery store is seen in Monroe, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)