Winners & Losers: Rams outlast 49ers, stay alive in NFC West race

LA’s young defense held 49ers to six points; Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua active on offense

The Los Angeles Rams are heating up and showing they can win games in multiple ways. Last week versus the Buffalo Bills, the offense showed they could outpace Josh Allen and a potent Bills scoring attack. On Thursday Night Football, they ground out a hard-fought defensive battle on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.

LA has won seven of their last nine games and are hitting their stride at the right time.

The Rams could still trail the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West race pending this coming weekend’s results; however, the stars are aligning for an all-important Week 18 matchup on the Rams’ home turf at SoFi Stadium against Seattle.

Who contributed on an individual level to LA’s 12-6 win over their division rivals? Let’s dive right in.

Winners

Kobie Turner, DT

On a day when the team only allows six points, you have to start with the defense. Turner was a leader on this side of the ball and finished with two sacks on Brock Purdy, including one on a key third down in the second half. He was credited with five total tackles.

Turner also had an important pressure that resulted in an interception by Darious Williams.

Darious Williams, CB

Williams caused the game’s only turnover and picked off Purdy in the end zone. The three weeks leading up to this game haven’t been favorable to the veteran corner, but credit for him for putting those challenges in the rearview and coming up big against a division rival.

Ahkello Witherspoon, CB

Ahkello Witherspoon had a big night against his former team. The veteran was in the starting lineup in replacement of an injured Cobie Durant, but he had played sparingly in the previous two games.

Purdy targeted Witherspoon often in this game, and the veteran was stingy in coverage. He finished Thursday night with three pass deflections.

Josh Karty, K

LA’s rookie kicker converted all four of his opportunities with his long coming from 48 yards out. On a night where the elements created a challenge for the passing game, the Rams’ specialist deserve praise for keeping the operation clean and helping Karty towards a perfect night.

Puka Nacua, WR

The Rams passing game pretty much ran solely through Puka Nacua. The second-year receiver finished with seven receptions on eight targets for 97 yards, including a long of 51. Nacua also rushed two times for 11 yards. LA’s next receiver in terms of yardage was Colby Parkinson at just 21 yards.

Kyren Williams, RB

The box score won’t suggest Thursday night’s game was one of the more efficient outings for Kyren Williams; however, he grinded out tough yards and kept the chains moving despite the offense struggling through the air. Williams took the bulk of the work in the ground game, finishing with 29 carries for 108 yards (3.7 average), Blake Corum managed just five yards on three carries and added another 15 yards through the air.

Losers

Davis Allen, TE

On a night where his tight end counterparts made contributions to the passing game—Parkinson had two receptions for 21 yards and Hunter Long also made two catches for 17 yards, Davis Allen had a tough night. The second-year TE was called for holding on a designed running player for Matthew Stafford, which partly caused LA to settle for a field goal in the red zone.

Matthew Stafford, QB

It was a tale of two halves for Stafford, but his improved performance in the second half doesn’t outweigh the issues we say in the first half. Stafford started the game looking like he was determined to turn the ball over. A potential interception bounced off Fred Warner’s chest plate. The 49ers had other opportunities that ended up falling to the turf harmlessly incomplete.

All-in-all, Stafford finished 16 of 27 (59% completion) for 160 yards. Nacua accounted for 60% of these yards.

The veteran quarterback battled the elements, sure. Purdy wasn’t good in this game either. Still, you expect Stafford to perform better in one of the most important outings of the season.

Cooper Kupp, WR

Kupp made important contributions as a blocker in the run game. That’s something we often take for granted from him.

But as a receiver he failed to make an impact in San Francisco. Stafford targeted him three times, but they were unable to connect for a completion. Kupp has disappeared at times this season and is no longer the dominant receiver from his 2021 triple crown campaign.