Winners & Losers: Tutu Atwell sparks big plays to save Rams season

Tutu Atwell and Xavier Smith shifted momentum to steal win away from 49ers

Late, big plays sparked the Los Angeles Rams to a comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Tutu Atwell caught a 50-yard bomb from Matthew Stafford that setup the tying touchdown by Kyren Williams. After a stop by LA’s defense, Xavier Smith returned a punt to midfield that put the Rams in position for the winning field goal by rookie Josh Karty.

It was an improbable but much needed win for Los Angeles. The Rams earn their first win of the season and move to 1-2. The 49ers fall to 1-2 and so do the Arizona Cardinals after they fell short this afternoon to the Detroit Lions. In first place are the Seattle Seahawks at 3-0, but it’s still early and the Rams are finally showing signs of life in 2024.

These are the individuals that willed the Rams to victory on Sunday, as well as a handful of other players that could have cost them an important win in the NFC West division:

Winners

Josh Karty, K

Josh Karty was as cool as a cucumber on the first game-winning field goal of his career from 37-yards. Here’s hoping it’s the first of many.

Karty made another field goal as well as three extra point attempts while battling a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice this week. LA had brought back Tanner Brown as a contingency plan in case Karty couldn’t kick, which tells us this was a notable concern.

Tutu Atwell, WR

With both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua injured someone needed to step up in the Rams receiver room. Atwell ceded the WR#3 role to Demarcus Robinson over the second half of last season, but he just makes plays when given the opportunity. In his first start of the season, Atwell caught four of his five targets for 93 yards. He also threw a pass that would have given the Rams the ball on the goal line, but Robinson was unable to secure the catch as he fell to the ground. The speedster also drew a defensive pass interference call that accounted for over 45 yards that won’t be credited to him in the box score.

Atwell is a playmaker. Clearly the best on the Rams have right now. If he can keep this up, LA will be frisky despite the current rash of injuries.

Kyren Williams, RB

The offense ran through Kyren Williams against San Francisco, and that was clear early. Williams carried the ball 24 times for 89 yards (3.7 average) for two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 27 yards and a third touchdown through the air.

It wasn’t Williams’ most efficient performance, but considering the high volume of injuries along the Rams’ offensive line it was good enough. LA stuck to the run even though the 49ers went up 14-0 early, so credit to Sean McVay for not departing from the initial game plan.

Xavier Smith, WR/PR

It was mildly surprising to watch Xavier Smith make multiple big punt returns in the preseason only for him to not make the initial 53-man roster. LA also strangely named Williams as the starting punt returner to start the season.

Smith showed late into the game why he deserves to be the Rams’ punt returner moving forward—and his 38-yard return put the 49ers on the ropes. A defensive pass interference penalty on a pass intended for TE Colby Parkinson drew the Rams even closer to the goal posts.

Byron Young, OLB

The first two weeks of the season were quiet for second-year OLB Byron Young, but he made his presence felt against the 49ers and was active all game long.

Young’s most notable play was a strip sack on Brock Purdy. His final stat line shows four tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. If both Young and Jared Verse can fire on all cylinders at the same time, this defensive front could be dangerous. They’ll likely be better towards the end of the season than they are right now, so if the defense can stay afloat and keep the playoff race close this group could be very frisky.

Chase Blackburn, Special Teams Coordinator

An early punt fake to Ronnie Rivers successfully converted a first down while down 0-14 and helped the Rams take back some momentum. Ethan Evans dropped a punt inside the 10 yard line late. We’ve talked about Karty and Smith’s contributions.

This was a strong special teams outing from the Rams and it made a noticeable difference at the margins. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to say that about LA’s special teams, so credit to Blackburn’s work with his group.

Losers

Tre White, CB

100% of these yards aren’t all on White, but the Rams allowed their third receiver breakout in as many weeks. After Jameson Williams and Marvin Harrison, Jr. stole the show early this season, Jauan Jennings caught 11 of his 12 targets for 175 yards and three touchdowns in this game.

A good chunk of these yards were earned in White’s coverage. White was also badly beat by Brandon Aiyuk and was flagged for contact.

The bottom line is that the veteran looks like the weakest link on the Rams defense. If Darious Williams returns in Week 5, then LA should start Williams next to Cobie Durant and move White to the bench for as long as they have the luxury to do so.

Kamren Kinchens, DB

One of Jennings’ longer touchdowns came against rookie safety Kamren Kinchens’ coverage. Kinchens played poorly last week against the Cardinals and has been thrust into the lineup because of the injury to veteran John Johnson. The Rams need Kinchens to pick up the slack sooner than later and he’s becoming a liability in coverage.