It’s amazing how one good half of football can change the narrative surrounding an entire game. That was the case for the Los Angeles Rams, who failed to score a touchdown in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday before outscoring them 20-0 in the final two quarters.
They cruised to a 26-9 victory at home, in large part because of the way Kyren Williams, Matthew Stafford and the offensive line played in the second half. The defenses wasn’t too bad, either, allowing zero second-half points to Arizona.
When Pro Football Focus released its game grades for the Rams’ win, there were several players who received high praise from the analytics site. Stafford was chief among them, ranking as the highest-graded quarterback in the league for Week 6 with a grade of 90.0. The next-closest quarterback is Kirk Cousins, who had a grade of 83.5.
Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert still have to play on Monday night, but Stafford has been the best quarterback of the week so far. Seven other Rams players were also graded among the best players at their respective positions, all of them ranking in the top six.
- Matthew Stafford: 90.0 (1st among QBs)
- Kyren Williams: 84.8 (3rd among RBs)
- Cooper Kupp: 87.0 (2nd among WRs)
- Kevin Dotson: 86.1 (2nd among OL)
- Rob Havenstein: 82.7 (6th among OL, 3rd among OTs)
- Byron Young: 87.3 (3rd among edge rushers)
- Aaron Donald: 85.2 (2nd among DTs)
- Cobie Durant: 81.4 (6th among CBs)
All eight of the above players were instrumental in the Rams’ victory, with five representing the offense and three on defense. Dotson and Havenstein were dominant on the right side of the line, particularly in the run game, while it was Donald and Young applying constant pressure on Josh Dobbs in the pocket. Williams, Kupp and even Durant were excellent, too.
The Rams are building some momentum with this victory, heading into Week 7 when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Football is the ultimate team sport and it’s always good to see a collection of players like the one above come through with some stellar performances.
