Heading into this season, expectations weren’t particularly high for the Los Angeles Rams. There was a great deal of confidence within the team under Sean McVay, but outside the walls of the team facility, most believed they’d be a bottom-third team again.

It’s only been one week, but the Rams are proving they’re better than we may have thought. They blew out the Andrew Luck-less Colts at home 46-9 on Sunday, earning their first victory of the season. It was a shockingly great performance by the team as a whole, and it’s earned Los Angeles a spot in the top 20 of USA Today’s power rankings at No. 19.

QB Jared Goff notched first career W and 300-yard game. The offense scored 30 points, which Rams did once in 2016. Even better, the D scored 16.

This is a fair assessment and placement of the Rams. They’re not quite a top-15 team just yet after beating a team that was without three key starters, but the performance was certainly worthy of giving them a boost into the top 20.

The way the Rams played gives them plenty of reason for hope, too. Jared Goff put together a stellar performance, throwing for 300-plus yards for the first time in his career, while also avoiding a single turnover.

Todd Gurley had a few flash plays and one that was called back due to holding, but he looked better than he did last season. And then there’s the defense, which scored 16 points on its own thanks to two pick-sixes and a safety.

As a whole, McVay’s debut couldn’t have gone any better, and he was rewarded by a boost in the power rankings.