{"id":951261,"date":"2026-10-30T00:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T00:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951261\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T00:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T00:32:13","slug":"los-angeles-rams-los-angeles-chargers-share-a-city-not-a-rivalry-as-they-head-into-their-first-meeting-in-four-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951261\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers share a city, not a rivalry as they head into their first meeting in four seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Although the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> and the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> share a stadium, they don\u2019t share a rivalry.<\/p>\n

The NFL schedule only puts these teams together once every four years, and they have neither the long history nor the recent animus necessary to make Sunday\u2019s meeting into a true crosstown showdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big town to cross,\u201d Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a> said with a grin. \u201cI don\u2019t run into those guys too often, to be honest with you. I don\u2019t really want to make that drive. Nobody does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, while the Rams and Bolts have called Los Angeles home since their relocations a decade ago, this conurbation is vast. The teams\u2019 training complexes are more than 30 miles apart, with the Rams deep in the western San Fernando Valley and the Chargers down in coastal El Segundo.<\/p>\n

Stafford has been a local for several years now, so he knows it might be more pleasant to face the Chargers\u2019 pass rush than that drive to the South Bay in afternoon traffic.<\/p>\n

But Stafford and the Rams (3-4) also realize they will be facing a desperate bunch of roommates this weekend: The Chargers are a shocking 0-6 in a start that makes the Rams\u2019 early stumbles look minor in comparison.<\/p>\n

After beginning the season with legitimate aspirations for a third straight playoff berth and more, the Chargers are the NFL\u2019s only winless team and its lowest-scoring team. But the Bolts are fresh from a bye week that included a thorough examination of how they\u2019ve found themselves in such a mess, and the Rams\u2019 defense will be the first to see what Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel have added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like every stone, any part that we could look to better, that\u2019s the way we responded,\u201d Harbaugh said.<\/p>\n

Harbaugh is keeping McDaniel in charge of the offense and play-calling for Justin Herbert<\/a>, who got a week off to rest a body that has already taken 21 sacks in a miserable season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was a very helpful and useful week,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cGot to meet with Mike a lot that week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams are still below .500 entering November after beginning their own season as a Super Bowl favorite, and they likely can\u2019t afford a slip-up against a winless opponent during the softest stretch of their schedule. But the Chargers\u2019 unrealized potential is a concern to Rams coach Sean McVay, a longtime admirer of McDaniel\u2019s offensive innovation and Harbaugh\u2019s old-school leadership style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really couldn\u2019t care less what the record says,\u201d McVay said. \u201cI see a team that\u2019s really good. They\u2019ve had a chance to win a lot of these games.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Chargers coming out of that busy bye week, the Rams are in the unusual position of trying to determine what McDaniel and Harbaugh have chosen to change during their week off.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you project up some things that they would maybe do, if you\u2019re saying, \u2018If we were in a similar situation, what would that look like?\u2019\u201d McVay said. \u201cBut you want to be careful not to overthink it and play good, sound defense. There still are a lot of challenging and stressful things that they\u2019ve done on tape that we have to be ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chargers\u2019 defense has been largely solid this season, but the Rams have the league\u2019s most productive offense by yardage despite an inability to score at a commensurate rate. Along with the NFL\u2019s most productive passing game, the Rams rolled to a strong win over the Raiders last week behind a pair of 90-yard rushing games from both Kyren Williams<\/a> and Blake Corum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou attack it as you do any other week,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cWe don\u2019t really look at the other team\u2019s record and go, \u2018They\u2019re good or they\u2019re bad.\u2019 This is NFL football. They have Pro Bowl-caliber players on that sideline and a team capable of doing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Need to know<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams<\/a> (3-4) at Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> (0-6).<\/p>\n

When\/where to watch: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST, Fox.<\/p>\n

Latest odds: Rams by 6 1\/2.<\/p>\n

Against the spread: Rams 3-4; Chargers 0-5-1.<\/p>\n

Last week: Rams beat the Raiders 35-21; Chargers had a bye.<\/p>\n

Last meeting: Chargers won 31-10 on Jan. 1, 2023, in Inglewood, California.<\/p>\n

Series record: Rams lead 7-6.<\/p>\n

Matchup to watch<\/p>\n

Chargers edge rushers Khalil Mack<\/a> and Akheem Mesidor<\/a> vs. Rams offensive tackles Warren McClendon Jr.<\/a> and Alaric Jackson<\/a>. The Bolts\u2019 defense must keep it close to help their own struggling offense, and Mack can renew his former NFC North rivalry with Stafford while leading the charge to bother last season\u2019s NFL MVP.<\/p>\n

Stats and stuff<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Chargers and Rams are meeting for only the third time since they both relocated to Los Angeles. This is only their second meeting since the opening of SoFi Stadium in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Rams are 1-2 at SoFi Stadium this season, and the Chargers are 0-3. Both the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> and Spain\u2019s World Cup soccer team have won two games apiece at SoFi since the Bolts\u2019 most recent home victory in December 2025.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Rams\u2019 defense has yet to allow a touchdown in the first quarter this season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rams WR Puka Nacua<\/a> has at least five catches in 15 consecutive games for the NFL\u2019s longest active streak.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stafford leads the NFL with 1,989 yards passing. He\u2019s ahead of his pace from last season, when he led the league for the first time in his 18-year career.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Rams have the NFL\u2019s fifth-best third down defense, and the Chargers are sixth.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jim Harbaugh hasn\u2019t lost seven straight games since he was a quarterback for the 2000 San Diego Chargers, who went 1-15.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Harbaugh coached three Rams at Michigan: Corum, LB Josaiah Stewart<\/a> and CB Josh Wallace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here <\/p>\n

Greg Beacham, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Although the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers share a stadium, they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-951261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}