Kyren Williams has been the Rams’ workhorse back for the last two seasons but despite all the production he’s had, he’s also shown a propensity to cough the ball up – especially at inopportune times.
On Sunday night against the Eagles, he fumbled it not once, but twice in the 37-20 loss. He only lost one of them, but it was on the Rams’ opening drive when they got to the red zone and were poised to take an early lead.
Williams now has five fumbles in his last seven games this season after fumbling it three times in 2023. After the game, Sean McVay was asked flatly if he’s concerned about Williams’ fumbles.
He didn’t have much to say in response, which was a clear sign of his frustration.
“You know, that’s something we have to be better at, for sure,” he said.
McVay typically gives rather lengthy answers to questions in his postgame press conference, so his brief reply on Williams’ fumbles is somewhat telling. He obviously trusts his top back without wavering because Blake Corum only got one carry in the entire game, but fumbling is the quickest way to lose opportunities as a running back.
In his opening statement, McVay did mention that he felt his team “came out ready to go.”
“The turnover really hurt us, obviously.”
When asked again about what that opening-drive turnover did for the trajectory of the game, McVay expressed his frustration.
“It did take the – it was tough because I thought our offensive line came out ready to go,” he said. “I thought Kyren was hitting those holes and that play, you’re in scoring position already right there, felt good about some different options, and for us to turn it over there when we did, it was costly, for sure.”
This may not lead to any changes in the backfield but if Williams keeps giving the ball away, McVay may not have much of a choice.
