Turf Show Times
Week 7 brought a total team win and complete effort for the Los Angeles Rams. They bested the Jacksonville Jaguars in London 35-7 and advance to 5-2 on the season.
Let’s break down the individual efforts from the game and dive deep into the advanced metrics that may not be reflected in the box score. These are the top five Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades on each side of the ball with a few other notes that caught my eye.
It wasn’t the most productive day for Adams in terms of yards (35), though he did find the end zone three times. The veteran caught five of the eight passes thrown in his direction, which is a positive sign because entering this game his catch rate was below 50% on the year. Adams won two of three contested catch opportunities and did not drop a pass (he averaged over a 10% drop rate through six games).
Stafford finished with a relatively low PFF grade considering he kept the ball out of harm’s way (zero turnover-worthy plays) and tossed three big-time throws. The offensive lagged in the third quarter and was unable to build on their 21-0 lead. Stafford was off-target during this period and for the game posted an adjusted completion rate of 69.7%—his third lowest mark on the season.
It’s worth noting that Stafford’s second lowest mark came in Week 6, so he’s been less accurate over the last two games. Is this a trend or possibly a product of missing Puka Nacua?
Avila’s performance was well balanced between the run and pass games. He earned a run blocking grade of 71.4 and a pass blocking grade of 65.9. Avila allowed one pressure on Stafford and was flagged for penalty once.
It was a positive outing in his second game back from injury.
While Ferguson scored the first touchdown of his career—a 31 yarder—it wasn’t even the most impressive part of his contributions on Sunday. The rookie posted a run blocking grade of 76.8 on 16 such plays which bested all of the Rams’ linemen.
It’s possible that blocking is something that has kept Ferguson off the field early in his career, though he’s demonstrating he’s willing and capable. Can he eat into Tyler Higbee’s playing time following the Week 8 bye?
Dotson allowed one pressure in pass protection, which was good for a grade of 72.8 in this facet. In the run game he earned a mark of 66.0. His run blocking grade was the second-lowest among the starting five linemen in front of Alaric Jackson.
The snap counts at receiver seem unusual, and it could be a sign that Tutu Atwell is still working his way back from injury. Atwell played...
