The Los Angeles Rams needed a get-right game heading into Week 14 following a loss to the Carolina Panthers. That’s exactly what they got, beating the Arizona Cardinals 45-17. Whenever the Rams have needed to get back on track, the Cardinals have played that role well. Matthew Stafford was back to his MVP self while the defense had a performance much more reminiscent of the rest of the season. Here are 10 takeaways as the Rams improve to 10-3.
1. Slow start, but defense finds groove
The Rams defense looked like it was going to be picking up where it left off last week on the opening drive. Jacoby Brissett found tight end Trey McBride on two big plays and then Michael Wilson in the back of the end zone. It took all of five plays for the Cardinals to score their first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead.
However, the defense found itself as the game progressed. After the Cardinals tied the game at 10, the next six drives lasted less than five plays. The defense played more aggressive, bringing pressure from the second level. Nate Landman even got his first career interception with the Rams. If not for a garbage time touchdown in the fourth quarter, the defense would have had a shutout in the second half.
Offensively, the Rams are in a very good spot. There are two teams that have stopped them this season and both of those units are two of the best in the NFL. Those two defenses would be the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. If the Rams can protect the ball, the offense has the ability to control the game if they need to and they did to start this game. This is an offense that can lift up the defense when they need it and until they can get a stop.
To start this game, the Rams scored on their first five possessions. They faced a single third down in the entire first half. The Rams offense had a success rate of 64.2 percent. No team in the NFL had a success rate over 60 percent this week. This is an offense that has become very difficult to stop, scoring 30 or more points in five of their last seven games. As they avoid the self-inflicted mistakes, it’s hard to see them slowing down.
3. Rams find variety in red zone
There were certainly some frustrations when the Rams got down into the red zone on the opening drive with the run game and then opted for three consecutive passes. While the Rams should have leaned on the run game more in that situation, Matthew Stafford just missed Davante Adams on two ‘would have been’ touchdowns. In a sense, it was an example of the Rams becoming overly reliant on Adams in the red zone. That changes for the rest of the game.
On the next two red zone possessions, Blake Corum and Kyren Williams scored from two yards out. On the first red zone possession of the second half, Stafford found Colby Parkinson in the end zone for the score. The Rams can keep Adams as their bread and butter in the red zone, but finding the running game in that area of the field and using Parkinson’s size was a needed change up.
4. Matthew Stafford returns to MVP-level
Following his three turnover game last week, Stafford was back to playing at an MVP level. After the media focused on Stafford throwing touchdowns from inside the five, all three of his touchdown passes on Sunday came from outside the five. Additionally, two of those touchdowns came from outside of the red zone. Stafford has thrown three or more touchdowns in seven games this season. While he finished under 300 yards, the Rams pulled him with over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, Stafford had 197 passing yards and looked sharp. With Drake Maye and the Patriots on a bye week, it was an opportunity for Stafford to shine and re-take the lead in the MVP race. Following Sunday’s game, he now has a better passer rating than Maye. The Rams are going to need this version of Stafford for the rest of the rest of the season.
5. Nacua provides big plays in passing game
Throughout this game, the Rams relied on Puka Nacua in the passing game and their running back duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. At one point, Corum and Williams had combined for 109 yards while Nacua had 108 yards. The Rams wide receiver finished with seven receptions for 167 yards. He averaged 23.9 yards per reception and had his first career game with two touchdown catches.
Stafford completed passes to nine different wide receivers, but it was Nacua’s production that made the most impact. All seven of his receptions went for a first down or touchdown. He averaged 8.35 yards per route run which was almost double the next closest wide receiver.
6. Pass rush finds its rhythm
Prior to Sunday, there was a lot of criticism when it came to the Rams’ pass rush. To say they found themselves against the Cardinals would be an understatement. They pressured Brissett a total of 24 times at a 48 percent rate. It was their highest pressure rate in a single game since Week 4.
Taking Ty Hamilton’s snaps on the defensive line, Desjuan Johnson led the Rams with six pressures. Kobie Turner had a sack and five pressures with Byron Young remaining a threat on the edge. The Rams could have had a few more sacks, but the pressure created negative plays and impacted Brissett several times.
7. Rams ride run game (and Blake Corum)
If the Rams running game looked reminiscent of Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson back in 2018, there is a reason for that. Blake Corum and Kyren Williams combined for over 200 yards rushing. It’s the first time that a Rams running back duo has done so since Gurley and Anderson against the Dallas Cowboys. Corum scored a touchdown from 48 yards out. It was the longest touchdown run by a Rams running back since Gurley in Week 15 of the 2017 season. Additionally, the offensive line is blocking just as effectively as the 2018 group.
Corum followed up a career day last week with another one. For the first time in his career, he broke 100 yards. He’s the first Rams running back since Dick Bass in Week 5 of 1962 to rush for over 125 yards on 12 or fewer carries. Corum had 99 yards after contact and four explosive runs of 10 or more yards. As a duo, Williams and Corum gained a first down on 48.5 percent of their designed runs which was the most in the Next Gen stats era. Their 253 yards were their third-most, and it came with their third-highest success rate since 2016.
The Rams have a strong balance in the run game right now and this is a duo that the Rams should be able to ride down the stretch. This is a true two-headed monster at the running back position and they both make each other better. The defenses will get more difficult over the next few weeks, but this running game has proved that it can be lethal.
8. Ahkello Witherspoon isn’t saving secondary
The secondary remains the biggest concern of the Rams defense outside of their consistency on the defensive line. There was some hope that Ahkello Witherspoon would provide a boost to the secondary on the outside. With Darious Williams inactive in Week 14 due to injury, it saw Witherspoon’s snap count more than double from last week. Witherspoon may be getting up to speed, but he hasn’t been good over the last two weeks. On Sunday, he allowed five catches on six targets and got beat down the sideline on a ball that was overthrown by Brissett.
Hopefully Witherspoon finds his form, but it’s fair to say that at this point, he hasn’t been the immediate spark that some were hoping for when he returned. Emmanuel Forbes has struggled the last two weeks against more physical wide receivers. The Rams need Witherspoon to find his form from the end of last season.
9. Rams back in control of their own destiny
With the win against the Cardinals, the Rams also got some help on Sunday afternoon. The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears and the Rams are back on top of the NFC after a one week hiatus. This is a team that is back in control of their own destiny down the stretch. With a win against the Lions next week, the Rams should be able to clinch a playoff spot. Sweeping the Seattle Seahawks the following week would all but clinch the top seed in the NFC.
The Rams are right where they would want to be with four games to play. A bye week would be important to get Quentin Lake back for the postseason and that is something that the Rams will be playing for over the next month. They can only take things one game at a time, but they are in a very good spot.
10. Next two weeks decide the season
Following the bye week, the Rams had two crucial stretches in the second half of the season. They had the 49ers, Seahawks, and Buccaneers all back-to-back. Taking two of three would have been seen as a success, but the Rams went 3-0. The next two games will decide whether or not the Rams win the NFC West and take the top seed in the NFC. They play the Detroit Lions on 10 days of rest before a re-match against the Seahawks.
If the Rams take both of those games, they will essentially cement themselves atop the NFC. If they only take one of them, it needs to be the second game in that stretch against the Seahawks. When it comes to big games this season, the Rams have shown up for the most part. It won’t get much bigger in the regular season than the next two weeks.
