For the first time in two months, the Los Angeles Rams looked vulnerable against the Carolina Panthers. After winning by an average of 18.5 points over the last six weeks, the Rams had a clunker in Week 13. The Panthers had scored fewer than 17 points in five of their last six games. Against teams with winning records, they struggled to remain competitive. Yet, somehow, the Rams lost.
It was a reminder, the same one that the Rams experienced in Week 5, that you must be ready to play to expect to win. It was a reminder that it takes more than just showing up to win in the NFL. The Rams certainly made some coaching errors, but this game was more about a lack of execution from a player’s standpoint than poor defensive scheme or offensive play-calling. That’s not to say it was perfect, but plays that this team has been accustomed to making over the past six games weren’t being made.
Unfortunately, that started with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford still had some nice moments in this game. His first touchdown was a thing of beauty. With Stafford and Davante Adams having so much red zone success, teams are going to adjust. One of those adjustments is having a defender cover the slant so the defensive back can cheat outside leverage. On the touchdown, Stafford manipulates the edge defender covering the slant with his eyes and pulls out a no-looker to Adams. Stafford also extended the play on his second touchdown to find Adams in the back of the end zone.
However, Stafford was slightly off throughout the game. The Rams quarterback had the seventh-highest off-target rate on his throws in Week 13. He had a 21.4 percent off-target rate and only 67.9 percent of his throws were deemed catchable. That was also inside the bottom-10. Stafford still completed 4.1 percent of his passes over expected which also speaks to him out-performing the offense.
Still, there were missed opportunities in which Stafford simply missed throws that were available or wasn’t on the same page with his receivers. Prior to the pick-six, Stafford misses an open Terrance Ferguson. Even if he checks down to Kyren Williams, there is a lot of green grass in front of him to pick up a big gain. The next play, Stafford forces a pass to Nacua and throws inside. The result is a touchdown the other way.
Later in the game, Stafford would miss Ferguson again as the two weren’t on the same page. Stafford expected Ferguson to sit in the zone while the rookie ran through it. The Rams were still able to score on that drive. On the final possession, Stafford had Adams running open across the field, but forced a check down to Nacua that fell incomplete.
Multiple things can be true. Matthew Stafford is an incredible quarterback who even made the elite level throws in an off-day. At the same time, it’s ok to admit that he may have had an off-day. Even not at his best, the Rams had a chance to win at the end.
Where the Rams really struggled was on the defensive side of the ball. On the first fourth down that resulted in a score, Shula calls in a play that many would want him to call in that situation. The Rams play tight, press coverage at the line of scrimmage and bring Omar Speights on a blitz. Emmanuel Forbes gets beat at the line of scrimmage and Bryce Young is able to get rid of the ball in under two seconds.
Again, that’s not to say that Shula was perfect. On the second fourth down conversion, Shula rushed three and dropped eight. The pass rush didn’t make an impact and Young had time to find Jalen Coker. However, this wasn’t a game in which Shula played ultra conservative. The Rams played tight coverage at the line of scrimmage. They blitzed at a 25 percent rate which was nearly 10 percent more than last week. It was the most they had blitzed in a game since Week 6.
At the end of the day, they allowed a 37.5 percent success rate on the ground, which included 55.6 and 50 percent rushing success rates in the second and third quarter (we’ll get to more of this later). Players need to execute.
On two of the final plays of the game, the Rams actually have two good play calls. On 3rd-and-11, McVay calls a play that would have resulted in a first down. He drew up Puka Nacua on a 12-yard curl and Williams in the flat. If Stafford is able to get the ball out, it’s likely a first down. Instead, Kevin Dotson gets beat off the line. The Panthers called a stunt on the left side and create a pick. Alaric Jackson has outside leverage and therefore when he blocks his guy inside, he takes Steve Avila completely out of the play.
With the game on the line and the defense needing a stop, they get the Panthers to 3rd-and-5. Again, Shula has a good play-call drawn up. This play was always going to be quick and over the middle. Nate Landman drops to cover the outside part of the curl while Omar Speights is supposed to cover the inside. Instead, Speights crashes down on the check down which is the running back in the flat. That leaves the middle of the field wide open and should be left to Josh Wallace.
Shula had the perfect play call and also a good pass rush plan. Byron Young was coming on a stunt and was close to getting to Young or forcing him to bail. With the quick pass and first read coming available, there wasn’t time for the pass rush to get to Young.
In the big moments, the Rams didn’t execute while the Panthers did. The coaching staff certainly had their issues in this game, but the players also have to make plays. Hopefully this ends up being the wake up call that the Rams need to make a late-season run.
The Rams missed Poona Ford
Poona Ford showed up on the injury report on Friday and did not practice with a calf injury. Ford had hovered around a 40 percent snap-share throughout the season. On Sunday, he played just 29.7 percent of the defensive snaps. To say that the Rams missed his presence in the middle of the defensive line would be an understatement.
The Rams signed Ford in the offseason to be an important piece of their defensive line as a run-stopper. They didn’t have that against the Panthers and it showed. When Ford was on the field, the Panthers had 15 carries for 48 yards which averages to 3.2 yards per carry. Without Ford on the field, the Panthers had 20 carries for 93 yards for 4.7 yards per carry. The Panthers averaged a full yard and a half more per carry when Ford wasn’t on the field.
Ty Hamilton is only a rookie, but it’s clear that he’s not ready. The early returns on that draft day trade haven’t been good. Hamilton is supposed to be a run-stopper on the defensive line. He ranks 173rd out of 177 defensive linemen against the run via PFF. Among defensive linemen to play 10 or more snaps in Week 13, he ranked 130th out of 140 defensive linemen.
In the snaps that Ford played, he performed well, but the Rams clearly didn’t want to risk injuring him further. Whether it’s playing Larrell Murchison more or potentially signing someone like Christian Wilkins, the Rams can’t rely on Hamilton at this point in his career.
Blake Corum shows off explosiveness
Blake Corum had seven carries for the Rams against the Panthers with a 100 percent success rate. Four of the seven carries went for 10 or more yards or a touchdown. Yet, he only touched the ball seven times. While the Panthers committed to running the football, the Rams opted to throw out of play action against the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense against play action.
Corum had his longest run of the season in this game. On the play below, he runs through two defensive linemen while displaying his elusiveness in the open field. Corum nearly breaks Trevin Wallace’s ankles. He then uses his speed to get to the outside and pick up 34 yards. Jordan Whittington had a great blocking day overall, including a pancake on that run specifically. The offensive line dominated at the line of scrimmage for much of the afternoon.
During this game, Corum also found the end zone in impressive fashion. Despite getting hit at the line of scrimmage, Corum fought his way to the end zone as he kept his legs churning and fell forward across the goal line. He and Williams have a good dynamic going and this was a game that the offense should have been able to ride both of them to a victory.
Braden Fiske has impressive day
There weren’t a lot of standout performances on the defensive line, but Braden Fiske was one of them. Since getting healthy, he’s been back to what many expect from him. He ranked fifth among defensive linemen in run defense via PFF last week. Over the last three games, he’s been the second-best defensive lineman against the run.
While the sacks haven’t necessarily been there for Fiske this year, he had one against the Panthers that could have been the play of the game had they won. Fiske’s sack took the Panthers out of field goal range. Despite the sacks not being there, he ranks sixth in pressures since Week 4. Much has been made about how Fiske has been quiet this season, but his last two games have been his best of the season.
