There wasn’t much to dislike in the Los Angeles Rams’ 45-17 blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams moved to 10-3 on the season to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West and climbed back to first place in the NFC conference.
The next two weeks bring difficult challenges in the Detroit Lions and Seahawks. Before we turn the page, let’s visit the Pro Football Focus (PFF) game data from Week 14:
Top five grades on offense
1 – Puka Nacua, WR: 97.4
What is there left to say about Puka Nacua? He hadn’t been filling up the stat sheet as much as we are accustomed to in recent weeks, but he blew the lid off this game and was clearly the best player on the field. He finished with seven receptions on 10 targets for 167 yards and two scores. Just 32 yards came after the catch, which is somewhat unusual for him.
He made catches on four different Cardinals defenders, burning them all for more than 20 yards:
- Jalen Thompson, FS: 1/2 for 20 yards
- Will Johnson, CB: 3/4 for 69 yards, 2 TDs
- Denzel Burke, CB: 2/2 for 46 yards
- Budda Baker, SS: 1/1 for 32 yards
2 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 93.9
The offensive line allowed just two pressures on the day and provided time for Matthew Stafford to find his targets downfield. This was the most vertical as we’ve seen of the connection between Stafford and Nacua.
Stafford tossed a season-high six big-time throws without a single turnover-worthy play. He finished with 22 completions on 31 attempts (71.0%) for 281 yards and three scores.
3 – Alaric Jackson, LT: 92.1
Jackson was basically perfect in this game. He earned an impressive run blocking grade of 94.5 and drew a pass blocking grade of 86.8 without a pressure. Jackson was flagged once for a penalty.
4 – Blake Corum, RB: 91.9
5 – Kyren Williams, RB: 83.4
Let’s take Corum and Williams together.
- Williams: 13 rushes for 84 yards (6.5 avg), 1 TD
- Corum: 12 rushes for 128 yards (10.7 avg), 2 TDs
Corum had 45 yards after contact (3.75 avg) while Williams gained 64 (4.92 avg). Williams forced more missed tackles at five (Corum four). Corum finished with four runs over 10 yards and three over 15 yards while Williams had two and one, respectively.
Other notes on offense
While he didn’t finish with a reception with only a single target, Terrance Ferguson still made an impact on this game with his run blocking. He earned a grade of 82.0 which finished behind only Jackson and Kevin Dotson. The Rams are running out of excuses to not grow the rookie’s role in the offense.
Top five grades on defense
*Limited to players with more than five snaps. Shaun Dolac would have made the top five but was on the field for only four plays.
1 – Nate Landman, MLB: 87.4
Landman made one of the biggest plays on the day for the defense. His interception of Jacoby Brissett set up an offensive touchdown. He also recorded one pass breakup and drew a PFF coverage grade of 90.4. He missed a tackle and that lowered his overall grade.
2 – Josaiah Stewart, EDGE: 83.4
There have only been two games this season where Stewart played less than 20 snaps. He had 25 against the Cardinals, meaning he wasn’t only on the field during garbage time. The rookie has a real role on this defense and makes a difference when given the opportunity. Sunday was one of his most productive pass rush outings on the season—he recorded three and brought his total to-date to 16.
3 – Josh Wallace, SCB: 80.7
After a rough debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Josh Wallace has steadied the ship in Quentin Lake’s absence and performed well over the last two weeks.
In this game he was targeted five times, allowing just two receptions for 11 yards with a PBU. He fared well in run defense with a grade of 74.5 (highest on the defense), but he missed both of his tackle attempts for a tackling grade of 25.8. It’s something to monitor moving forward.
4 – Desjuan Johnson, EDGE: 77.8
This was the first time Johnson played a defensive snap since Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He made the most of his opportunity and tied Byron Young for a team lead with six pressures. Rookie Ty Hamilton was inactive for the first time in a while, but it does beg the question why Johnson hasn’t been playing over Hamilton all season long. They play different positions, sure, but Johnson for most of his career has been an interior player and in theory could provide inside/outside versatility. That flexibility alone should dress him on gamedays.
5 – Kobie Turner, DT: 74.6
Turner finished just behind Young and Johnson with five pressures. Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, and Stewart all had three apiece. Turner’s run defense grade of 58.5 (18th) was only ahead of Emmanuel Forbes, Fiske, and Larrell Murchison on Sunday.
Other notes on defense
It simply wasn’t a good day for the Rams’ secondary. Kamren Kinchens and Emmanuel Forbes both allowed touchdowns to Michael Wilson. They graded 14th and 20th of 21 players on defense, respectively.
Forbes allowed receptions on four of five targets for 50 yards, the aforementioned score, with a pass breakup. Kinchens was only targeted on the touchdown that he allowed.
But veteran Ahkello Witherspoon was the worst graded individual of all who appeared on defense. He missed two of six tackle attempts—good for a tackling grade of just 28.7. He also drew a coverage grade of 36.2, allowing six catches on seven targets for 91 yards and a passer rating of 118.8.
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