By Week 3, the early-season picture had already started to wobble. Injuries and upsets had changed the assumptions around the NFL, and that made Rams vs Broncos feel less like a simple pick and more like a test of which team had steadied itself fastest.
The MMQB staff leaned toward the Rams, and that choice fits the shape of the moment. Los Angeles was set to play in prime time for the third consecutive week, while Denver came into the matchup with the kind of preseason Super Bowl buzz that now had to be proven on the field rather than in August projections.
Why the Rams got the nod
The pick itself points to something important: in a week where confidence was harder to find across the league, the Rams were the side the panel trusted more in Rams vs Broncos. That does not mean the Broncos were being dismissed. It does mean the staff saw Los Angeles as the more dependable choice in a game being played in Denver, under the lights, in a setting that tends to reward teams that can adjust quickly.
That matters because Week 3 is still early enough for perceptions to change, but late enough for surprise results to carry real weight. A team that can win on a stage like this does more than collect a result; it starts to reshape the conversation around what kind of season it can build. For Denver, the challenge is different. A preseason darling is still only that until it starts turning expectation into weekly proof.
What Rams vs Broncos says about Week 3
The bigger story is that the MMQB staff’s pick reflects a broader uncertainty that had already crept into the season. With injuries and upsets changing the landscape, there was less appetite for consensus and more attention on which teams could handle the turbulence. In that context, Rams vs Broncos becomes more than a single game in Denver. It becomes a small referendum on early-season stability.
Los Angeles being chosen over Denver does not settle anything for the season ahead, but it does give the Rams the edge in one of the week’s more visible matchups. And with prime time adding another layer of scrutiny, this one has the feel of a game that could say as much about momentum as it does about the final score.
