The Los Angeles Rams will face the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants in their first two games of the 2026 NFL season, testing their offseason defensive improvements. Both matchups are crucial to assess if the Rams' revamped defense can handle their opponents' offensive strategies.
The Los Angeles Rams will be taking on the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants in back-to-back weeks, kicking off the 2026 NFL season with two straight home games. For a Rams team with such high expectations, both matchups serve as early tests to see if their approach to the 2026 offseason was the correct one.
The Rams hope to at least return to the NFC Championship Game this season and they identified their defense and special teams unit as their critical weaknesses. As a result, the Rams revamped both units with new coaches and players. In the first two weeks of the season, the 49ers and Giants may be viewed as simple early-season contests. However, both teams have critical elements to their operation that will make it abundantly clear if the moves made by the Rams will pay off.
It's easy to get caught up in the hype of a new season, and there are many reasons why a team will be able to improve over the course of the year. With that being said, Kyle Shanahan's offense has historically dominated the Rams, especially if the 49ers are fully healthy. The Rams have also struggled in recent years against dual-threat quarterbacks, something the Giants have in Jaxson Dart.
The 49ers have primarily used an underneath passing attack paired with their zone blocking run scheme to advance the ball against the Rams. The 49ers' success would often come from the Rams' lack of dominant outside corners. When the 49ers defeated the Rams in 2025, they did so thanks to the deficiencies in the Rams' secondary. Mac Jones was getting the ball out quickly enough that the Rams' pass rush could not get home, despite Jones essentially playing on one leg.
The Rams will play against the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants in their first two games.
The Rams identified their defense and special teams unit as critical weaknesses that needed improvement.
The 49ers have historically dominated the Rams, particularly due to their effective offensive strategies and the Rams' struggles with outside corners.
The Rams will face dual-threat quarterback Jaxson Dart from the New York Giants in their second game.
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
The Rams did not have the speed or physicality at corner, a situation exacerbated by Emmanuel Forbes Jr.'s limited usage in that contest. The 49ers, who have burned the Rams with Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne, now have Mike Evans as their WR1 – a perfect test to see if Forbes, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson have the speed, physicality, and explosiveness to force the 49ers into pushing the ball in situations that they might not want to do so.
This will also be a great test to see if the Rams do have depth problems in the secondary, or if their current rotation is able to maintain standards, regardless of who is on the field.
The other issue is the dual-threat quarterback. If Caleb Williams could make the simple throw in the snow, Chicago would have played the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game because the Rams could not slow him down – until he made horrific, costly passes.
Williams, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Josh Allen have all had their say and their day in recent years. Their ability to run has often spread the Rams' defense beyond limitations, leading to a breakdown of their entire operation. The belief is that the new additions on defense will allow defensive coordinator Chris Shula to call his game because he has the players who can be sticky enough in coverage, with the speed at the line of scrimmage to keep dual-threat passers in the pocket.
The Giants now have a veteran coach in John Harbaugh, who is bringing his Baltimore Ravens' hard-hitting defensive ideology with him to Dart's offense. This will give Dart the confidence to take more shots downfield. Let's see if the Rams will be able to handle it.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams schedule: First 2 games will test LA's new-look defense