Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford received a dose of reality on Sunday when they were stunned by the Carolina Panthers. Some would call it a “trap game”, but it serves more as evidence of what can happen when hot streaks come to a screeching halt.
Stafford snapped his historic TD/INT streak by throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. The fumble came on a potential game-winning drive for LA.
Emmanuel Forbes also saw his recent stint of high level performance draw to a close as he allowed two long scores both in fourth down scenarios.
No spoilers. Let’s assess how bad this loss really was for the Rams and who stood out in positive and negative ways according to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) data:
Blake Corum was clearly better than Kyren Williams in this game, and the advanced metrics bear this out:
Corum’s longest rush went for 34 yards, which matches Williams’ longest carry on the season. Both backs scored touchdowns.
Warren McClendon belongs in the starting lineup for this team and that’s all I have to say about it. He’s consistently graded at a high level while filling in for Rob Havenstein. It’s time.
As automatic as it gets on the goal line, Adams caught two more red zone touchdowns. He hauled in four of five targets for 58 yards with a long of 32. Stafford did not throw Adams a contested catch ball, which is an area where the veteran receiver has struggled this season.
While Steve Avila earned the lowest pass blocking grade among the starting five linemen (one pressure), he took the top run blocking grade on a day where the running backs were as productive as we’ve seen them together in tandem. Avila has rejuvenated the line since his return, and this loss cannot be placed at this unit’s feet.
The Rams strangely did not activate Tutu Atwell from injured reserve ahead of this game despite saying he would likely return. Instead, Xavier Smith led the team in receiving yards with 82 and caught all three of his targets. All of his catches came against safeties, so credit Sean McVay for scheming up favorable matchups. Smith beat former Ram Nick Scott for his longest reception of 51 yards.
LA’s offensive line only allowed three pressures, which is an absurdly low total.
We cannot use the offensive line as an explanation for Stafford’s bad game. He performed below expectations on his own, and was often too aggressive...
