Andrew Whitworth thinks the Rams got exactly the kind of jolt they needed. After Los Angeles opened the season with a 27-7 loss to the 49ers, the former Rams lineman said the defeat was a humbling message to a roster that entered the year with Super Bowl expectations and cannot afford to treat Monday night like a formality.
That is why Whitworth is being searched now: the Rams are back on the field Monday night against the 1-0 Giants at SoFi Stadium, and the loss in Melbourne has already turned into an early test of how they handle pressure. New York opened the John Harbaugh era with a 28-20 victory over the heavily favored Cowboys, so Los Angeles is not walking into a soft landing.
Whitworth told Front Office Sports that the NFL has a way of humbling teams quickly. He said the loss was a needed wake-up call and warned that you cannot just show up and expect people to bow down to you. The numbers from Week 1 back him up. Los Angeles finished at minus-0.289 expected points added per play, and its passing offense fell to minus-0.454 EPA per attempt. The Rams converted only 2 of 9 third downs, committed two turnovers and scored once in three red-zone trips. Matthew Stafford threw for 155 yards and an interception.
San Francisco, by contrast, controlled the game from the start. The 49ers piled up 379 yards, converted 7 of 12 third downs and did not allow a sack. That kept Los Angeles from sustaining drives, ending possessions or putting pressure on Brock Purdy. Myles Garrett finished without a tackle, sack or quarterback hit, a sign of how little disruption the Rams were able to create when they needed a stop.
The strange part is that Whitworth did not sound panicked. The morning after the loss, he told frustrated fans to R-E-L-A-X and pointed to the Rams’ recent history of recovery. They went from 3-5 to 10-7 in 2023, from 1-4 to 10-7 in 2024 and from 3-2 to 12-5 last season. He also noted that New England lost its 2025 opener to a Raiders team that finished 3-14 before reaching the Super Bowl, a reminder that one ugly September result does not define a season.
That is the friction in Whitworth’s message: he called the loss a wake-up call, but he also argued against panic. Both ideas can be true. The Rams do not need to overreact, but Monday night will be the first real measure of whether they can respond against an unbeaten opponent instead of waiting for one to hand them a reset.
If Los Angeles shows up the way it did in Melbourne, the same problems will follow it. If it answers Whitworth’s warning, the loss will read less like a warning sign and more like the first rough page in another Rams recovery.
