The Los Angeles Rams looked like a team that could be playin

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for a long time based on how they put away the Oakland Raiders in the second half of the teams' season opener.With an eye toward possibly playing into February White Aqib Talib Jersey , coach Sean McVay is willing to play the game to make sure the Rams are physically ready.McVay preemptively canceled Wednesday's practice to give his team extra time to recover from a physically taxing 33-13 win at Oakland on Monday night, planning instead to hold a walkthrough similar to what the Rams did late last season in his first year in charge. Later in the week he will be ramping up the physicality heading into the team's home opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday."We always try to do what is best for the players, and I think when you take into account what a physical game that was — that's a physical football team that we played last night — we feel like we've got the kind of team where we're mature enough to be able to handle a mental day if we feel like that's going to be best for them getting their bodies, getting their legs back underneath them for a good Thursday and Friday, and then hopefully being ready to go on Sunday against the Cardinals," McVay said Tuesday.That approach would seem to make sense after the Rams showed they can overcome a slow start against the Raiders. In addition to outscoring Oakland 23-0 in the second half, Los Angeles also had a 267-141 yardage advantage and held the ball for exactly 20 minutes.The Rams defense intercepted Raiders quarterback Derek Carr twice and did a better job of adjusting to Oakland's use of tempo and formation in their first game under returning head coach Jon Gruden, something McVay credited to the adjustments made by players and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips."I think to be able to go through some adversity says a lot about our football team," McVay said. "When you take into account the elements, the atmosphere, some of the unknown with what they presented offensively, even some different things defensively, the way that the half ended they had a lot of momentum. I thought our guys really embodied that attitude of never flinching, never blinking, and then they came out and did an excellent job in the second half."They also showed an improved understanding of how opponents might attack a Los Angeles defense supercharged by the offseason additions of defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. Oakland used a heavy dose of bruising running back Marshawn Lynch in an effort to keep the Rams from getting chances to rush the quarterback, while tight end Jared Cook was the focus of the passing game with Raiders receivers held under wraps by the star defensive backs.Despite their struggles in a 24-6 loss to Washington, Arizona has the personnel to try and replicate Oakland's approach. David Johnson is a proven asset carrying the ball or catching it out of the backfield, and tight end Ricky Seals-Jones showed signs of being a difference-maker in the passing game as a rookie.The two Cardinals targets are the kind of players the Rams might try to limit with linebacker Mark Barron, but McVay was uncertain whether he would be available after not playing against Oakland because of an ankle injury."He's kind of day-to-day right now," McVay said. "It's such a tough thing as far as being able to really project and predict what he's going to be able to do. Whether he is going to be available or not right now I think is definitely questionable and I'll probably have a little bit more information about that as we go forward, but I thought Ramik (Wilson) did a nice job stepping up. You see Marqui Christian get a lot of reps in some of those known passing situations, and I thought both those two players were good for us last night."NOTES: Return specialist Pharoh Cooper is expected to miss several weeks because of a sprained ankle that McVay said might need to be repaired surgically. The Rams might be forced to sign a replacement for Cooper this week as his backup, wide receiver Mike Thomas, is dealing with a groin injury that McVay said could also sideline him. First, Emmanuel Sanders wagged his right index finger in the face of Rams cornerback Troy Hill . Now, he's pointing it right at himself after Denver's fourth consecutive loss.After his taunt came back to haunt the Broncos, Sanders accepted the blame for Denver's latest loss in a monthlong tailspin that has fans in the Rocky Mountains bracing for back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72."I guess this loss is on me," Sanders said after the Rams escaped frigid Denver as the league's lone unbeaten team following a 23-20 win Sunday over the Broncos (2-4) Youth Tyler Higbee Jersey , who became the first team in NFL history to allow a 200-yard rusher in back-to-back games.Sanders thought he had a 44-yard TD catch from Case Keenum as he tumbled into the end zone in the first quarter. He sprung to his feet and wagged a finger at Hill.Side judge Brad Freeman threw the flag, calling a personal foul on Sanders for taunting.Ordinarily, the flag wouldn't have mattered much because the 15-yard penalty would have been enforced on the ensuing kickoff and Brandon McManus, after giving Denver a 7-6 lead with an extra point, undoubtedly would still have booted the ball out of the end zone for a touchback.Upon review, however, it turned out Hill had the last laugh, having touched Sanders before he crossed the goal line.That put the ball at the 1.The penalty pushed them back to the 16.After runs of 1 and 5 yards, Keenum's throwaway on third-and-4 brought in McManus for a field goal instead of an extra point and his 28-yarder cut Denver's deficit to 6-3.They never did get the lead and those four points would have made the difference in a three-point loss."Me, honestly, I feel like the league is getting soft," Sanders said. "I'm having fun. I didn't do anything crazy to the guy besides say, 'Hey, I got you on that play.' I pointed my finger at him. And they threw the flag."Sanders said he's done that his whole career and has never been flagged for it."It was a great throw by Case, I came down with it, big play, emotions are high. It's not like I walked up to him and head-butted him or something," Sanders said. "But it cost my team. We lost by three points. I feel like we could have easily punched that ball in and gotten four (more) points. I guess this loss is on me."Vance Joseph, who fell to 7-15 as head coach, talked to Sanders on the sideline."He can't do that," Joseph said. "He knows that."Well, he does now."I don't think I did anything too crazy besides point a finger and tell the guy, 'Hey I got you on that play.' I don't see the penalty in that," Sanders said. "But I learned from it and like I said, it cost my team. I've just got to keep chugging along and don't do it again."The costly foul from a nine-year veteran came one week after Sanders' fellow SMU alum, rookie receiver Courtland Sutton , chased down Marcus Maye at the 1 following a 104-yard interception return at game's end, leaving the Jets safety with the longest such play without a score in NFL history."We played two of the best teams in the league Youth Samson Ebukam Jersey , the Chiefs and the Rams, and the games came down to crunch time. And that just shows you what kind of team that we are," linebacker Shane Ray declared. "We're a great football team."Not at 2-4 they aren't.Even Fox play-by-play man Dick Stockton dissed the Broncos by beginning the telecast saying, "the undefeated Rams take on the Denver Nuggets."Other takeaways from Week 6 included:CUTTING OUT COLINThe 49ers posted dozens of photos on its website of past games against the Packers in advance of their Monday night game without at first including any of Colin Kaepernick, who set an NFL record for QBs by rushing for 181 yards in a playoff win against Green Bay on Jan. 12, 2013, threw for 413 yards in a season-opening win against the Packers in 2013, and led a winning drive in a playoff game in Green Bay on Jan. 5, 2014."We have fond memories of those games and that should have been displayed on our website," the team said in a statement after adding images of Kaepernick. "This oversight does not properly reflect the appreciation our ownership and this team have for Colin."GRONK HONKTom Brady made light of yelling at Rob Gronkowski in an Instagram post following the Patriots' 43-40 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.In the second quarter, the sideline microphones picked up Brady yelling at Gronkowski to stand up out of his stance, and Brady ended up calling a timeout on the play.Gronk came up big in the fourth quarter with a stiff-arm that helped him gain 42 yards and set up a field goal that gave New England a 40-33 lead."Gronk, you can line up however you want if you keep stiff-arming people like that," Brady said.MISSED CALLSAl Riveron, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, acknowledged for a second straight week that officials goofed in not calling a running back for lowering his head and barreling into a defender.In his weekly video, Riveron said Patriots rookie Sony Michel should have been flagged for lowering his head to initiate contact with Colts safety Clayton Geathers in Week 5.A week earlier, Riveron noted that Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt should have been flagged for doing the same thing to Broncos safety Justin Simmons.Although Hunt got away without a penalty, his illegal hit did result in a $26,739 fine.NO EXCEPTIONSRiveron defended referee Clete Blakeman's crew, which didn't flag Steelers receiver Justin Hunter for blocking Bengals DB Tony McRae beyond 1 yard past the line of scrimmage on Antonio Brown's 31-yard TD catch from Ben Roethlisberger with 10 seconds left that gave Pittsburgh a 28-21 win on Sunday."The contact is initiated by the defender," Riveron said on Twitter , "and therefore the receiver is not responsible for this contact."NFL rule 8, Section 5, Article 4 states: "Blocking more than 1 yard beyond the line of scrimmage by an offensive player prior to a pass being thrown is offensive pass interference."The rule book, however, doesn't specify an exception for defenders initiating contact.