The Los Angeles Rams got back in the win column following a 10-day break, defeating the Baltimore Ravens 17-3. It may not have been the most inspiring of wins, but the Rams got the job done and guarantee themselves a winning record at their bye week. A defensive stop at the end of the first half and the offense scoring twice in two minutes was the difference. Let’s jump into this week’s 10 takeaways.
1. Slow, undisciplined starts continue
This is something that goes back to last year for the Rams. Last season, they ranked 30th in first quarter points per game. They currently rank 24th in the NFL at 3.3 first quarter points per game. If you remove the Eagles game in which the Rams scored 10, they are averaging 2.0 which is only slightly better than the Tennessee Titans. For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Rams didn’t look like a team that had been sitting on an overtime loss to a division rival.
It’s a testament to head coach Sean McVay’s ability to adjust. However, the beginning of the game is meant to be scripted and when teams are at their best. This isn’t to say that McVay and the Rams coaching staff doesn’t do a good job preparing the players. Still, this is something that has plagued the Rams for two seasons. They’ve gone completely scoreless in the first quarter in three of their six games. Playing from behind early in games forces the Rams to consistently need to dig themselves out of holes. Against good teams, that can be costly.
2. Rams have special teams, not kicker problem
When it comes to the field goal operation, it’s easy to point to the kicker. However, it’s important to remember that it is an entire operation. This is a situation in which multiple things can be true. Joshua Karty does need to be better. He needs to be able to make a 26-yard field goal. At the same time, it was tough conditions in Baltimore and it was his first actual missed field goal this season. Every other attempt that Karty has missed has been blocked. It’s become a domino effect. Karty has likely lost some confidence because of the protection issues which has then led to McVay losing confidence in the field goal operation as a whole. That was seen when he opted to go for it on 4th-and-3 instead of making it a three-score game.
Given that the Rams’ special teams have struggled over multiple seasons, it’s time to look past the kicker. In this same game, the Rams allowed a long punt return. Karty is a talented kicker that is worth hanging on to. Can the same be said about Chase Blackburn as a special teams coordinator?
3. Davante Adams needs to clean up drops
It’s hard to say that Davante Adams dropped a potential touchdown in the back of the end zone, but it’s a ball that a receiver of his caliber should be able to haul in. Later in the game, Adams dropped another pass, if not two. This has been an issue for Adams for much of the season as he had a drop rate of 12 percent coming into the game. That’s a number that will certainly increase and it’s already his worst drop-rate in a season since 2015.
Adams has been a consistent secondary option for the Rams in the passing game, but hasn’t necessarily been the dominant player on the outside. He hasn’t yet resolved the red zone issues in the passing game that was anticipated. There is plenty of time to clean it up, but these aren’t mistakes that the Rams should be getting from Adams.
4. Goal line stand changed the game
The Rams defense struggled defending the run on Sunday against the Ravens. Derrick Henry had 122 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. It was the most vulnerable that the Rams run defense has looked this season and it’s probably not a coincidence that it’s also the same game in which Troy Reeder played. With that said, the Rams defense stopped the run when they needed to. At the end of the first half, the Ravens had 1st-and-goal from the four yard line. Henry carried the ball to the one on first down, making it 2nd-and-goal from the one.
With Mark Andrews under center on a direct snap, the Ravens ran two “tush push” type plays and the Rams stopped them both. On 4th-and-goal, it was Jared Verse breaking through and stopping Henry in the backfield with Reeder there to help clean up. Instead of going into the half trailing 10-3, the score remained tied. That stop seemed to give the defense a bit of a spark and gave the Rams momentum heading into the break. It’s a very different game if the Rams allow a touchdown in that spot.
5. Kyren Williams has become a receiving threat
Kyren Williams isn’t the second coming of Todd Gurley by any means and isn’t Christian McCaffrey. However, he has 18 receptions through the first six weeks of the season. That would put him on pace for close to 50 for the season. Williams had eight catches in Week 5 against the San Francisco. While he only had two against the Ravens, he arguably had the biggest catch of the game.
On 4th-and-2 from the 33-yard line, Stafford rolled out to his left as he got pressured. Stafford found Williams down the field, who made a fantastic catch and landed on his left butt cheek. Williams has had some drop issues in the past and had one last week. If he can begin to add this element to his game, it makes him a dual-threat player that gives defenses something else to worry about going forward.
6. Quentin Lake is earning an extension
It’s crazy to think that it took four years for Quentin Lake to record his first career interception. However, Lake finally achieved the milestone on Sunday. In the first half, he stepped in front of Zay Flowers and got an interception. He wasn’t done there. Later in the game, Lake recovered a fumble that the Rams were able to turn into a touchdown and extend the lead to 14 points.
Lake is having a Pro Bowl caliber season in a contract year and he will likely leave the Rams with a very difficult decision at the end of the year. The Rams typically don’t pay safeties, but Lake is certainly earning a contract. He’s played like one of the better safeties in the NFL this season and is a big reason that the Rams defense has played as well as it has at times.
7. What is the offense without Nacua?
This isn’t to say that the Rams offense necessarily played poorly without Nacua. At the same time, it was clearly missing something when he wasn’t on the field. After the injury, he was simply a decoy and ended the game with just two catches for 28 yards. It’s a reminder that while the Rams have talent in the receiver room, Nacua is the engine that makes the offense go. Whenever the Rams need a big play, Nacua is there to make it.
Nacua is the identity of the Rams offense and hopefully he’s able to recover quickly in time for the Jaguars game or after the bye week. According to ESPN, Matthew Stafford had a 97 QBR when targeting Nacua and that dropped to 40 when targeting everybody else. For the offense to work as intended to its full potential, Nacua needs to be on the field.
8. Nate Landman has been a game-changer
It’s been said often at this point, but Nate Landman has been the steal of free agency. Landman has been exactly what the Rams needed at linebacker and he led the team with 17 tackles on Sunday. Out of those 17, 13 of them were against the run. He had seven run stops and two run stuffs. That’s not to mention his ‘peanut punch’ on one of Zay Flowers’ fumbles.
Landman has simply been a star on this Rams defense. It’s hard to imagine this unit without him and he’s been a big reason why they have played so well at times and why they’ve improved defending the run. The Rams linebacker has been excellent all season, but he had his best game with the team in the Week 6 win.
9. Plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles
After six weeks last year, the Rams were 1-4 and on their bye week, and in 2023, they were 3-3 and about to head into a three-game skid. This Rams team is 4-2 and an argument can be made that they should be 6-0. The overall point here is that over the last two years, the Rams have started slow and then found their stride in the second half of the year. This is a team that takes time to find out who it is, but once it does, they become very difficult to beat.
It hasn’t looked pretty for much of the first six weeks of the season and it wasn’t pretty against the Ravens. This is currently an imperfect team still trying to find itself, but that’s also okay at this point of the season. There’s plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles. The Rams are guaranteed to at least go into their bye week with a 4-3 record.
10. Not pretty, but Rams get it done
Again, the win wasn’t pretty. The Rams played undisciplined early in the game as defensive penalties helped the Ravens get on the board. The offense was 2-for-5 in the red zone and the special teams wasn’t sharp to say the least. However, this is a team that finds ways to win games how they need to win them on that given day. On Sunday, the Rams didn’t need to be special and simply needed to take care of business in tough conditions. That’s exactly what they did. The defense got stops when they needed them and the offense took control in the third quarter.
Winning 17-3 against this Ravens team may not look impressive, but this Rams team has shown that they are capable of winning in several different ways. Sunday may not have been a standout performance, but the Rams were efficient on offense, and following the first drive, the defense locked down and got stops when needed.
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