Turf Show Times
With the NFC conference race tightening, the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford gifted a win to a bad Carolina Panthers team. LA falls to 9-3 on the season with the Seattle Seahawks on their heels in the NFC West division. The Panthers will enjoy a 31-28 victory.
At the start the Rams seemed as if they would coast to a win. Ronnie Rivers set up a game-opening score with a long kick return, and then the Panthers left Davante Adams open in the end zone. Adams was able to secure an inaccurate pass from Stafford, which was probably our first sign the veteran quarterback was in line for a rough game.
Losing the turnover battle is the oldest rule in football and an omen you are in for a long day.
Let’s dive into the individual performances and assess a post-mortem on the stunning loss.
If there was one player that was absolutely dominant in this game, it was Kevin Dotson. He simply looked like the best player on the field. Dotson road graded in the run game and was as stout as you can be in pass protection.
The Rams’ per rush yardage was impressive and it was overall a productive day on the ground. Dotson played a major role in opening run lanes.
If the Rams had a do-over, they would probably want to run Corum more than they did. He was obviously the more efficient and better runner against the Panthers; however, he was only given roughly half as many carries as Williams.
While the offensive line played well, Corum simply was creating yardage beyond what was blocked. He found edges and cutback lanes and exploded into the secondary on multiple occasions. It was a day where LA could have done more to feed the hotter hand.
There wasn’t a ton of pressure on Bryce Young in this game, and the Panthers didn’t ask him to do much outside of a few key late downs. When the Rams did pressure Young, it seemed that Fiske was the most consistent rusher. He missed a sack in the red zone, but Carolina was still held to a field goal.
You can’t really blame Fiske for the run defense woes. This is not a facet of his game that he fares well in. The Rams should and do know better and take him off the field in rushing situations.
Puka Nacua made what is perhaps the catch of the NFL season, and saved Stafford from another interception. It’s beautiful when receivers can take a turnover-worthy play by their quarterback and shift the odds in their team’s favor. Nacua finished with six catches on nine targets for 72 yards. He disappeared at times outside of the screen...
