The Los Angeles Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5 and the Cowboys came away with a 22-10 victory at SoFi Stadium. The Rams have now lost two games in a row to fall to 2-3 on the season following a 24-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.
The Rams’ offense continues to struggle amid the offensive line injuries as they’ve scored 10 or fewer points in three out of their first five games. Meanwhile, the defense of the Cowboys has been a large reason why they’ve been able to win four straight games without Dak Prescott.
With the loss still fresh on everyone’s minds, here are six takeaways from Sunday’s disappointing loss for the Rams.
Darrell Henderson was phased out of the run game
The Rams have used Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson differently each week, depending on the in-game situations. While Los Angeles has desperately tried to get its rushing attack going this season, Henderson seemed to be phased out of the running game this week.
Akers would lead the way with only 33 rushing yards on 13 carries despite the weakness of the Cowboys’ defense being their run defense. Meanwhile, Henderson didn’t have a single carry in the game, though, his lone attempt was called back due to a holding penalty.
Understandably, McVay wants to get Akers going on the ground amid a slow start to the season. That being said, Henderson deserves to get more touches in the backfield moving forward, especially if Akers continues to be ineffective.
Matthew Stafford has to be better
It’s well-documented that the offensive line of the Rams has been dismal this season while they’ve been hindered by injuries. Even with that being true, Matthew Stafford simply has to be better at the quarterback position.
The veteran signal-caller entered Week 5 with seven turnovers in the first four weeks and he had three more turnovers on Sunday versus the Cowboys. While there are plays where Stafford isn’t getting enough protection, he’s missing easy throws and isn’t making the right reads more often than he should be.
The turnovers are becoming an issue this season and Stafford will need to play a clean game in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers if the Rams hope to get back in the win column.
Allen Robinson continues to be a ghost in the offense
McVay and the Rams continued to preach that they needed to do a better job getting Allen Robinson involved in the offense. The Pro Bowl wideout had only nine receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown on 18 targets entering Week 5.
There are certainly plays where Robinson could do a better job at trying to make a play. On the other hand, Stafford continues to look in the opposite direction of the veteran wide receiver as he finished with only three receptions for 12 yards on four targets.
The lack of protection the makeshift offensive line is providing is unquestionably limiting how much Robinson can impact the offense. At the same time, the Rams desperately need someone besides Cooper Kupp to produce at the wide receiver position and Robinson is basically doing cardio right now.
Aaron Donald is still pretty, pretty good
Spoiler alert: Aaron Donald is still pretty, pretty good. The All-Pro interior defender was wreaking havoc on the offensive line of the Cowboys all game on Sunday with six combined tackles and two sacks.
Donald has gotten off to a nice start to the season after signing a lucrative extension with 21 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, and four sacks in the first five weeks. Sadly, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year’s efforts hasn’t helped any of the other pass rushers provide consistent pressure.
If the Rams want to improve on the defensive side of the ball, they’re going to need players not wearing No. 99 to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks moving forward.
Derion Kendrick continues to impress
One of the bright spots for the Rams in recent weeks has been Derion Kendrick. The rookie sixth-round pick has been inserted into the starting defense due to injuries and he’s performed admirably given the circumstances.
Outside of a big play he allowed where he almost made an interception on Deebo Samuel in Week 4, Kendrick has been formidable in coverage. The Georgia product has been physical with the wide receivers he’s covered and he was mostly on Michael Gallup on Sunday, who had four receptions for 44 yards.
While the Rams hopefully get some of their defensive backs back healthy soon, it’s nice to know that Kendrick can be relied on alongside Jalen Ramsey.
The run defense was disappointing
The Rams entered Week 5 knowing that the Cowboys were going to try to pound the football with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. With Los Angeles wanting to make Cooper Rush beat them with his arm, the run defense of the Rams didn’t step up to the task on Sunday.
Elliott and Pollard combined to rush for 164 yards and a touchdown on 30 attempts (5.5 yards per attempt). The lone offensive touchdown for the Cowboys was a 57-yard rushing touchdown by Pollard, who broke a few tackles to find the end zone.
It’s been two straight weeks where tackling has been an issue for the Rams and Los Angeles will need to improve ahead of an upcoming matchup versus Christian McCaffrey.
