PFF grades: Struggles of Joe Noteboom, Jonah Jackson were real

Offensive line woes played a large part in disappointing loss to Dolphins

Not much went right offensively for the Los Angeles Rams, and that led to a disappointing Week 10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

LA started three new faces along the offensive line. The results were mixed, but RT Joe Noteboom and C Jonah Jackson particularly struggled. The Rams had no choice but to replace Rob Havenstein with someone new, as the veteran RT was out with injury; however, LA voluntarily replaced impressive rookie Beaux Limmer in the starting lineup and there was a deep drop off to Jackson. Second-year LG Steve Avila also made his return and played well by most measures.

Let’s take a look at the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades from Monday Night Football as we put this painful loss in the rearview.

Top five grades on offense:

1 – Tyler Johnson, WR: 83.0

2 – Puka Nacua, WR: 73.5

3 – Jordan Whittington, WR: 73.1

4 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 70.2

This was Stafford’s third-highest rated game on the season, but still it left for wanting as LA left key third down conversions and potential touchdowns on the field. This was the veteran signal caller’s sixth-straight game throwing an interception, and he entered Monday Night Football leading the NFL in dropped interceptions.

It seemed that Stafford turned a corner on Thursday Night Football versus the Minnesota Vikings, but his last two outings have been subpar considering the Rams full receiver corps is back in the fold.

The box score reflects 32/46 passing (69.5%) for 293 yards, an interception, four sacks, and a passer rating of 77.5. PFF credited Stafford one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays. He did earn a fumble grade of just 32.0 after a strip sack.

5 – Cooper Kupp, WR: 68.3

Taking all the receivers together at once here.

We can’t put much of the blame of this loss on the receiving corps if four of the five top grades went to that group. Notably, Demarcus Robinson was further down in the grades at 58.7 after he managed just one catch on five targets for 23 yards. After hauling in four touchdowns over his last two games, Robinson was largely a non-factor in this contest.

Nacua: 9 catches, 98 yards

Kupp: 7 catches, 80 yards

Johnson: 3 catches, 25 yards

Whittington: No targets

Other notes on offense:

It’s pretty evident where to point the finger and find blame in pass protection. Steve Avila did not allow a single pressure at left guard. Alaric Jackson was the next best lineman at two pressures.

Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson both allowed three pressures each. Their PFF pass blocking grades were 55.6 and 46.2, respectively.

The biggest problem was Joe Noteboom at RT. He allowed six total pressures (including a sack) and earned a pass blocking grade of 53.7.

Top five grades on defense:

1 – Kobie Turner, DT: 90.8

Turner recorded four pressures and batted a pass. He was all over the field versus the Dolphins and was effective against the run with a grade of 80.7.

2 – Christian Rozeboom, MLB: 90.0

This was probably Rozeboom’s best game of his career. He earned a PFF coverage grade of 91.9. In coverage as the nearest defender he allowed just two of five targets for 35 yards with an interception and two pass breakups.

3 -Jared Verse, OLB: 89.7

On a single play Verse sacked the quarterback, forced a fumble, and then recovered the ball. It was a seemingly game-changing play until the Rams offense couldn’t take advantage.

Verse’s Monday night finished with a team-leading five pressures. He also recorded three run stops.

4 – Tyler Davis, DT: 82.0

Davis played only 17 snaps on defense but made his presence felt. 10 of his snaps came against the run.

He was most effective as a pass rusher where he recorded a pressure on seven rushes.

5 – Omar Speights, MLB: 77.0

Speights has been given more opportunities out of the bye week and following Troy Reeder’s stint on injured reserve. He’s played well at times, particularly at penetrating the backfield and making tackles for loss. He earned a rush defense grade of 77.8 in this game with two run stops.

Notably, Speights was on the field for more snaps than Rozeboom at 39 versus 33.

Other notes on defense:

Three of the above listed players are members of the Rams rookie class.

After the rookie duo of Jaylen McCollough and Kamren Kinchens made splash plays and combined for three interceptions last week against the Seattle Seahawks, they both struggled versus Miami. McCollough was given a 37.8 defense grade (17 of 18) by PFF and Kinchens was the Rams lowest-graded defender this week at 27.6. Kinchens was blamed for allowing a touchdown in coverage.