Turf Show Times
For the first time in two months, the Los Angeles Rams looked vulnerable against the Carolina Panthers. After winning by an average of 18.5 points over the last six weeks, the Rams had a clunker in Week 13. The Panthers had scored fewer than 17 points in five of their last six games. Against teams with winning records, they struggled to remain competitive. Yet, somehow, the Rams lost.
It was a reminder, the same one that the Rams experienced in Week 5, that you must be ready to play to expect to win. It was a reminder that it takes more than just showing up to win in the NFL. The Rams certainly made some coaching errors, but this game was more about a lack of execution from a player’s standpoint than poor defensive scheme or offensive play-calling. That’s not to say it was perfect, but plays that this team has been accustomed to making over the past six games weren’t being made.
Unfortunately, that started with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford still had some nice moments in this game. His first touchdown was a thing of beauty. With Stafford and Davante Adams having so much red zone success, teams are going to adjust. One of those adjustments is having a defender cover the slant so the defensive back can cheat outside leverage. On the touchdown, Stafford manipulates the edge defender covering the slant with his eyes and pulls out a no-looker to Adams. Stafford also extended the play on his second touchdown to find Adams in the back of the end zone.
However, Stafford was slightly off throughout the game. The Rams quarterback had the seventh-highest off-target rate on his throws in Week 13. He had a 21.4 percent off-target rate and only 67.9 percent of his throws were deemed catchable. That was also inside the bottom-10. Stafford still completed 4.1 percent of his passes over expected which also speaks to him out-performing the offense.
Still, there were missed opportunities in which Stafford simply missed throws that were available or wasn’t on the same page with his receivers. Prior to the pick-six, Stafford misses an open Terrance Ferguson. Even if he checks down to Kyren Williams, there is a lot of green grass in front of him to pick up a big gain. The next play, Stafford forces a pass to Nacua and throws inside. The result is a touchdown the other way.
Later in the game, Stafford would miss Ferguson again as the two weren’t on the same page. Stafford expected Ferguson to sit in the zone while the rookie ran through it. The Rams were still able to score on that drive. On the final possession, Stafford had Adams running open across the field, but forced a check down to Nacua that fell incomplete.
Multiple things can be true. Matthew Stafford is an incredible quarterback who even made the elite level throws in an off-day. At the same time, it’s ok to admit that he may have had...
