LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rams starting left tackle Alaric Jackson has been suspended for two games without pay for striking Buffalo linebacker Bradley Chubb in the face after their teams' overtime game Monday night.
The NFL announced the suspension Tuesday for Jackson, who is slated to miss Los Angeles' games against Arizona and Las Vegas. Jackson will appeal the league's ruling, Rams coach Sean McVay said.
“Have to make better decisions than that,” McVay said. “I spoke with him. We’ll keep that in-house. ... I want to understand the totality of the situation. I’m not condoning by any means, but I want to gather all the information.”
David Quessenberry will be the Rams' starting left tackle during Jackson's absence, McVay said. The 36-year-old veteran has played only 128 offensive snaps over the previous two seasons, and he hasn't started an NFL game since 2023.
Jackson struck Chubb after the two exchanged words following the Bills' 37-34 overtime victory over the Rams at SoFi Stadium. In a press release, the league called Jackson’s blow “an act of unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Jackson was doing a jersey swap with another Bills player when Chubb had words with him and walked away. Jackson followed and confronted Chubb before throwing a strike that knocked Chubb's hat off his head.
Teammates quickly separated the two, but Jackson was already in trouble yet again.
Jackson was arrested on June 9 on suspicion of felony domestic violence after a confrontation with a woman at his home in the San Fernando Valley. His case was assigned for a prefiling diversion that likely allows him to avoid criminal charges, but the NFL has yet to announce a decision on possible league discipline for that incident.
He was sued in 2025 by a woman who alleged he recorded sexual acts with her on his phone without her consent. The incident, which wasn’t publicly revealed until the lawsuit was filed, led to Jackson being suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an undisclosed violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Jackson, a Canadian-American dual citizen, is one of the Rams’ longest-tenured players. He won a Super Bowl ring as a backup lineman in February 2022.
The former undrafted free agent out of Iowa is in his fourth season as the Rams’ starting left tackle and the protector of Matthew Stafford’s blind side. The Rams re-signed Jackson to a three-year, $57 million deal in February 2025.
Jackson's absence is potentially serious for the Rams because they don't have a trusted backup at the most important position on their offensive line.
Despite being the Rams' putative backup to both tackle positions, Quessenberry only took 10 offensive snaps for the Rams last year — and none yet this year. When Jackson missed one game last season, the Rams played relatively new signee DJ Humphries instead of Quessenberry, who was a full-time NFL starter for just one season with Tennessee in 2021.
Rookie Keagen Trost, another potential backup tackle, has been on injured reserve all season with a hamstring problem. McVay said the Rams are hopeful Trost will be in game shape soon.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua takes the field prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
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, earning a two-game NFL suspension Tuesday. The Rams don’t have a solid backup for the most important position on their offensive line, but McVay said they're handing the job to 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 are not opening his practice window this week for a potential return, McVay confirmed Tuesday. The Rams have declined to speculate on how long Garrett will need before his return.
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)
