LOS ANGELES – There’s certainly no dispute now. The Rams are the best team in L.A. For now.

On Sunday, they thumped the other L.A. team, the Chargers, 35-23 at the Coliseum.

So to the Rams go the bragging rights.

But the Rams are thinking much bigger than reigning supreme in the nation’s second-largest market.

How about the best team in the NFL?

Sure, that’s so risky to declare in September. Especially in the NFL, where anything can happen.

See the score from Minneapolis? The Bills and their rookie quarterback, Josh Allen, hung one on the Vikings and ultra-rich quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The Jaguars bum-rushed and shredded the Patriots in Week 2, but couldn’t score a touchdown or beat the Titans, who were down 1 ½ quarterbacks on Sunday.

Declare any and everything about the NFL power structure at your own risk.

But two things, on display against the Bolts, solidify the case for the Rams: consistency and balance.

After winning with 33 points on opening weekend and with 34 points the next week, the Rams put up another season-high point total while racking up 521 yards. That’s consistency. It's also a sign of improvement, as the high-powered offense built by coach Sean McVay has started with even better production that it had last year when the Rams led the NFL in scoring (29.9 points a game).

The balance is distinctive enough, too. And not just with the multiple weapons that get involved on offense. The big plays can come from any unit. In the second quarter on Sunday, Blake Countess scored a touchdown by recovering a punt that was blocked in the end zone by Cory Littleton. In the third quarter, Aqib Talib stripped Keenan Allen, allowing the Rams to convert that fumble into a 53-yard Jared Goff-to-Cooper Kupp touchdown. Call it complementary balance.

There’s too much football to be played to assume anything. But the Rams are off to a great start, with the pieces in place to be a stronger contender than last season.

And they are surely the best team in L.A.

Three other things we learned:

Cost factor: The big win for the Rams came with a cost as both of their Pro Bowl-credentialed cornerbacks – Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib – were knocked out of the game with what the team reported to be ankle injuries. Peters went down in the second quarter, while Talib left in the third quarter. The extent of both injuries remain unclear, but the issue is compounded by the short week the Rams face with Minnesota visiting on Thursday night. If the injuries are significant, they are obviously huge blows as Peters and Talib form what is arguably the NFL’s best cornerback tandem. Meanwhile, the Rams are down another kick returner as JoJo Natson (brought back to sub for injured Pro Bowler Pharoh Cooper) will miss extended time after suffering a broken hand. Linebacker Dominique Easley will also be watched; he tried to return Sunday after suffering a knee injury, but was unable to finish the game.

McVay spreads the wealth: Todd Gurley is the star and Goff the triggerman, but the Rams are nobody’s two-trick pony. They had layers upon layers of participation. Check out the rushing attack. On top of another 100-yard day from Gurley (and a 16-yard scramble from Goff), McVay did much to involve his wide receivers in the running game. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp had handoffs on jet sweeps, combining for 10 yards on four carries. And when they weren’t actually running from such action, Woods, Kupp and Brandin Cooks often posed threats as “ghosts” – running the jet-sweep patterns without getting the ball. Also, Gurley’s backup, Malcolm Brown, ripped on 34 yards on three runs in the second quarter. And there was similar multiplicity in the passing attack as Goff (29-of-36, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) completed passes to six different targets.

Be like Mike? After an injury-stung rookie campaign, Mike Williams is demonstrating precisely why the Chargers selected the Clemson product last year with the No. 7 overall pick. The big-play receiver scored two touchdowns against the Rams, hauling in a 42-yard pass for Philip Rivers in the first quarter – when he hung on to the ball despite crashing his head on the turf upon his landing. In the third quarter, Williams over-powered Lamarcus Joyner near the goal line to finish off a 20-yard TD. On the season, Williams has already matched the 11 receptions he posted as a rookie.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.