The good, the bad, and the ugly: A win is a win

Rookies step up for the Rams once again

The Los Angeles Rams secured their second win of the year after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 20-15 in a game that was a lot close than it should have been—but a win is a win. The celebrations will be short lived with LA making a quick turnaround to play the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Until then, here is the bad, the good, and the ugly for Week 7.

The Good

Chris Shula deserves an apology

Now THAT was a defensive performance we haven’t seen from the Rams in some time. With the offense stuck in turtle mode for most of the day the defense had to put the game on their backs and they absolutely delivered. The defensive front had both Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew running for their lives for most of the day with Jared Verse being especially impressive. Byron Young and Michael Hoecht also had some important plays that kept the Las Vegas offense on their toes.

Then there was the secondary. Ever since LA benched their marquee free agent, Tre’Davious White, the back end of the defense has improved mightily. It all came together on Sunday. Kobie Durant was an absolute stud. Not only did he catch the first interception of the game but also created a fumble on a free rush which was picked up by Cam Curl for the score. Akhello Witherspoon also made a difference with a few pass breakups, specifically one late in the fourth quarter against Tre Tucker that could have given Minshew and his unit some momentum. There were many other game balls to give out as well (Sean McVay gave the entire defense one in his victory speech), but Quentin Lake deserves a lot of the praise for his performance as well. He had the tackle of the game when Las Vegas was at LA’s four yard line and Minshew dealt a quick pass to the outside to Bowers who was absolutely leveled by Lake on a 1-on-1 tackle that saved the score.

Finally, undrafted rookie Jaylen McCollough continued to impress, adding two more interceptions to his resume after securing the pick-six against the Green Bay Packers two weeks prior.

The defense has been gaining traction since the beginning of the season and finally cashed in on their biggest game yet—Chris Shula might deserve an apology.

LA’s rookies step up

This season is beginning to look a lot like the previous—when the Rams looked to have a seat in the first five picks of the draft they got the best out of their rookies and made a legendary playoff run. Sure, this might be an ugly win against an bad opponent, but once again Les Snead is looking like a genius for his draft picks. It wasn’t just Verse or McCollough either. Rookie offensive line fill-ins Beaux Limmer and Justin Dedich allowed zero pressures on 24 drop backs earing a 73.3 and 70.0 PFF grade—now that is a sight for sore eyes. Matthew Stafford at times did have to get the ball out quickly and did get pressured but the two rookies did a good job at protecting their quarterback. The hope will be to get Steve Avilla, Jonah Jackson, and Joe Noteboom back but this week’s performance from the rookies may allow Stafford to gain some confidence in the pocket.

The Bad

Any Pass Catcher not named Tutu Atwell

Despite some encouraging news coming from LA’s practice reports, Cooper Kupp was not able to make it on to the field. Instead he had front row seats to a demoralizing offensive effort. Give the Raiders credit. The coaches drew up a great defensive scheme that dared the Stafford to throw the ball but without any real threats to throw to nothing could be done. Tutu Atwell was targeted nine time and caught six of them for 51 yards. He would have been the receiving leader if not for a 37-yard catch and run from Tyler Johnson. Without Puka Nacua and Kupp on the field no one is afraid of LA’s pass catchers and with a loaded box Kyren Williams can only do so much. With Kupp expected to play against the Minnesota Vikings this Thursday LA should see a lighter box up front.

The Ugly

Joshua Karty almost costs the W

The Rams sure do love to make Sundays nailbiters. This week it was Joshua Karty’s turn to keep the game close. He missed an extra point in the third quarter that would have made the game 21-6 and then missed a 35-yard attempt in the fourth quarter that would have put LA up 23-15 and at the very least made the game impossible to lost in regulation. Karty is an upgrade over past kickers that were on the roster last year but there will have to be patience. He is still a rookie after all. The missed kicks did not cost the win this time but LA will need every point they can get to take down the Minnesota Vikings next week.