The Los Angeles Rams enter their bye week on a happy note after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7 early Sunday morning. Los Angeles bounced back from a dismal offensive showing last week and took care of the Jaguars in London. Now, the Rams sit at 5-2 and atop the NFC West (for now), with four of those wins coming against the AFC South.
Let’s dive into the good, the bad and the ugly from L.A.‘s jolly good show they put on at Wembley Stadium.
The Good
Matthew Stafford MVP campaign incoming?
How does one follow up a mediocre showing in Baltimore? By throwing five touchdown passes, the most ever in an international game, of course!
If this game didn’t prove it to the haters, then I don’t know what will, as Matthew Stafford is firmly in the MVP conversation. Given how no one has really stood out this season, he could even possibly be the favorite.
No Puka, no problem, as Stafford didn’t miss a beat and was especially perfect on play action passes.
Stafford also matched a feat that only Tom Brady and fellow Rams legend Kurt Warner achieved during their lengthy NFL careers.
The veteran quarterback is playing some of the best football of his career, particularly in a Rams jersey. For whatever reason, people have loved to hate Stafford his entire career. The hate didn’t exactly stop following his Super Bowl win. Would an MVP trophy end that? It wouldn’t, yet it would make Stafford’s Hall of Fame case that much stronger.
Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher made the case during the NFL on CBS postgame report, and for any MVP voters out there, they might want to pay attention and listen to the expert:
Travel plan worked to perfection as Rams FINALLY played a complete game
Sean McVay and the coaching staff raised eyebrows before the team made its way to London. Usually, teams leave for England anywhere from a week to a few days before playing in the city. The Rams didn’t arrive in London until Saturday morning—less than 24 hours before facing the Jaguars—a travel strategy that no one has tried until now.
So go figure that L.A. would play its first complete game of the season overseas.
Los Angeles jumped out to a 21-0 lead before halftime and didn’t look back. The defense was spectacular, sacking Trevor Lawrence seven times and holding the Jags to a combined 5-of-21 on third and fourth-down attempts.
Perhaps the Rams found a winning travel strategy that no staff in the NFL had the guts to try until now. Keep in mind that not every team could pull off what L.A. had, since the Rams have McVay and his wonderful mind, and the rest of the league doesn’t, plain and simple.
Now, the Rams need to stay in London until the day before their game against the Saints and see if they can play a complete game on American soil. Worth a shot!
Davante Adams showed why he’s paid the big bucks
Isn’t football funny? Sometimes we post silly musings, like wondering if the Davante Adams signing has been a bust so far, only for the All-Pro to catch three of Stafford’s five touchdown passes Sunday.
Don’t get me wrong, the Adams signing has been very whelming so far, but this was the exact game the Rams’ offense needed. With Puka Nacua out, someone needed to step up, and Adams showed everyone why the front office signed him this offseason.
On a day when 10 Rams players caught a pass, with no one going over 50 yards receiving, Adams stood above the rest with his three scores. He’ll be reverted to his sidekick status once Nacua returns, but for now, it was nice to see Adams shine in the spotlight.
The Bad
The Rams were outgained by how many yards?
I’m really just grasping for straws here, since there should really not be much to complain about in a dominant victory. This might not be categorized as bad, odd perhaps, but strangely, the Rams won by 28 points, yet were outgained by 87 yards(!)
Isn’t that crazy? It’s not like the team was overly efficient on offense, considering its third-down “production”—more on that in the uggo section.
Simply put, L.A. made the big plays when it mattered and was aided by Jacksonville repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. The Jaguars were penalized 13 times, and the offense was out of sync for the entirety of the game.
Still, it’s hard to believe they outgained the Rams despite all that.
The Ugly
Third-down offense was putrid
Again, there shouldn’t be much to complain about in a blowout win. However, the Rams truly were awful on third down, easily the ugliest thing about an otherwise pretty game from them.
L.A. converted only 2-of-10 third-down attempts, while the Jaguars converted just three of their own.
There are only so many things you can nitpick in a 28-point win. It boggles the mind a little that the Rams could be simultaneously perfect in the red zone and simply dreadful in key third-down situations.
Weird!
Regardless, that is something the coaching staff must work on over the bye.
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