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The Los Angeles Rams produced a superb effort on Monday Night Football as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals on their own turf. Missing several key players, including Jalen Ramsey, just hours before kickoff, Matthew Stafford & Co put in their best showing of the year in the 30-23 win.
The win moved the Rams to within one game of the division lead, but they are missing key players due to COVID-19, and they might be without them for a little longer. The day after the win, another bomb was dropped: Odell Beckham Jr. became the latest Rams player to test positive for the virus.
Several Rams players now in COVID-19 protocol
Also read: NFL Playoff Picture: Packers catapult to top seed as Cardinals lose
With Odell Beckham Jr. joining the list of Rams players struck down with the virus, the number now stands at 13 players currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the Rams.
Jalen Ramsey, Tyler Higbee (now a false positive), Darrell Henderson, Donte Deayon and Rob Havenstein, along with others including Sebastian Joseph-Day, Jordan Fuller, Juju Hughes, Jonah Williams, Tyrell Burgess and Brycen Hopkins were all added to the list on Tuesday.
It is a stark reminder that the virus is still circulating around the NFL, and it has the ability to cripple the league in the same way it has affected the Rams, so much so that their facility has been closed until Wednesday at the earliest.
The Rams are not the only ones who are dealing with COVID-19 cases at their facility. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, there were a massive 37 recorded cases of the virus on Monday. The number is only expected to grow by 25 by the end of Tuesday.
It just shows how quickly things can take a turn when the rules are relaxed, so we should expect that each of the 32 NFL teams will severely tighten their COVID-19 protocols over the next couple of weeks.
It is believed that around 19 teams in the NFL have at least two players affected by the virus. How it affects the Rams going forward remains to be seen as they are due to play another division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, on Sunday.
With still a few games to go in the regular season, the Rams offense has already been dealt a blow with Robert Woods out for the year. With Odell Beckham Jr. also out, Stafford's options are looking rather limited, and Cooper Kupp can't exactly do it all by himself.
The next few weeks will tell us a lot about the Rams squad and whether they are indeed deep enough to make a playoff run.
Also read: Will Jalen Ramsey play tonight against Cardinals on MNF?
