Winners & Losers: Matthew Stafford lays egg on Monday Night Football

Matthew Stafford has thrown an interception in six-straight games

The three-game winning streak of the Los Angeles Rams was snapped by the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. Miami came out on top 23-15. The Rams fall to 4-5 on the season and are tumbling back towards the bottom of the NFC West standings.

Who stood out on an individual level against the Dolphins?

Winners

Kobie Turner, DT

LA’s second-year defensive tackle was all over the field on Monday night. He finished with six tackles, a sack, and a pass deflection. The Rams got consistent pass rush production and that prevented Miami from pushing the ball downfield for the most part. There were plenty of interceptable passes and Tua Tagovailoa threw for just 207 yards.

Jared Verse, OLB

The Rams’ impressive rookie wreaked havoc against Miami. On a single play, he beat veteran LT Terron Armstead for a sack, stripped the quarterback, and recovered his own forced fumble. Verse made several big plays in the run game as well.

Verse continues to strengthen his campaign for the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year award, of which he’s clearly the frontrunner at present.

Josh Karty, K

Karty scored all of the Rams’ 15 points in this game. He did leave three points on the table, though the miss doesn’t rest all on his shoulders. The rookie kicker converted a 52-yard kick, but center Beaux Limmer was called for a false start. Karty missed the 57-yard kick which would have been the longest of his career.

All-in-all, making five of six field goals and setting a new career-high at 55-yards is a pretty good day at the office.

Christian Rozeboom, MLB

Rozeboom had easily the best coverage game I’ve ever seen from him. He picked off a pass to give the Rams’ offense favorable starting field position and then dropped another interception late. The box score credited him with three pass breakups on the evening.

Possibly even more impressive is the fact LA held Miami to less than 70 rushing yards. The defense did more than enough to win this game, but the offense failed to play complementary football.

Losers

Rams free agent signings

Jonah Jackson, C

The Rams benched rookie standout Beaux Limmer for this guy?

LA had visions of a road grading interior offensive line when they signed Jackson to pair with Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila. However, Jackson was never a risk-free signing. He’s missed stints of time due to injuries during his days with the Detroit Lions, and he was generally considered the weak link of an otherwise steady Detroit OL. The Rams are seeing the low end of his range of outcomes currently.

There were multiple bad snaps in this game as well. It was Jackson’s first game back from injury, so he probably should get the benefit of the doubt. Still, this level of performance was by no means acceptable.

Colby Parkinson, TE

Parkinson was seemingly benched for second-year TE Davis Allen for most of this game. Allen didn’t exactly make the most of his opportunities, and none of the three TE’s on the roster are playing well right now. Perhaps Tyler Higbee can return from injury and bring some stability to this group for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.

This is probably a position that needs addressed in a serious way—again—ahead of next season.

Matthew Stafford, QB

If we are being honest, Stafford’s only good game this season came on Thursday Night Football versus the Minnesota Vikings where he tossed four touchdowns. In nearly every other game—including comeback wins against the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks—Stafford’s play has ranged from pedestrian to below average. He’s on a streak of six-straight games with an interception and as of last week led the NFL in dropped interceptions at six.

The veteran signal caller completed 32 of 46 passes (69.5%) for 293 yards, and interception, four sacks, and a passer rating of just 77.5.

The Rams offense needs a spark in a major way. With every passing week it’s becoming more apparent that Stafford shouldn’t be the quarterback beyond 2024. What does the team have to lose by putting Jimmy Garoppolo on the field? It’s time to explore alternatives.

Steve Avila, LG

Similar to Jackson, Avila had a rough return from injury. Chalk it up to rust possibly, but the Rams should expect more from last year’s second round pick.

Joe Noteboom, RT

Fans don’t appreciate the steadiness of RT Rob Havenstein enough, though they are usually reminded just how important he is to the team’s success when he misses time with injury. Havenstein’s absence was seriously felt on Monday night, and Noteboom was a liability on the right side of the line. Calais Campbell dominated him nearly all game.

If Havenstein is unavailable next week, would LA benefit by turning to Warren McClendon instead?

Kyren Williams, RB

Williams has been a non-factor over the last two games. He fumbled the ball after a sudden change and forced turnover by the Rams defense. He finished with 15 carries for 62 yards (4.1 average) along with five receptions for 20 yards.

Blake Corum came in and earned LA their first set of new downs on the game with a reception. It’s probably time to see more of the capable rookie running back.