The end result may not have been a victory like they’d hoped, but the Los Angeles Rams held their own against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. They left SoFi Stadium with a 30-23 loss, but there are plenty of things they can feel good about – including the play of some of their rookies.
Pro Football Focus handed out grades for all Rams players in Sunday’s loss and at the top was Puka Nacua, who earned an 81.0 grade for his 15-catch, 147-yard performance against San Francisco. Another rookie, Kobie Turner, was the Rams’ highest-graded defender in the game.
Buy Rams TicketsBelow are the top-graded Rams on offense and defense, as well as the lowest-graded players from Week 2.
Top 5 offense
- WR Puka Nacua: 81.0
- WR Tutu Atwell: 69.7
- RB Kyren Williams: 65.3
- WR Ben Skowronek: 64.8
- QB Matthew Stafford: 63.2
The Rams moved the ball well in the first half but the second half was a different story, which is part of the reason so few players had good grades on offense. Nacua was the only one above a 70.0, though Atwell and Williams both played really well. Stafford would’ve had a higher grade if not for his costly fourth-quarter pick, too.
Top 5 defense
- NT Kobie Turner: 79.5
- LB Christian Rozeboom: 74.4
- DT Aaron Donald: 73.0
- DE Jonah Williams: 70.0
- NT Bobby Brown III: 69.1
It’s great to see Turner standing out on defense with a positive performance, recording one pressure and two stops with one missed tackle. He and the rest of the defensive line played decent despite the Rams giving up 159 yards rushing, including 116 to Christian McCaffrey.
Rozeboom bounced back after a subpar performance in Week 1, making five tackles and allowing just one reception for 9 yards in coverage.
Bottom 5 offense
- WR Van Jefferson: 52.6
- LT Alaric Jackson: 48.5
- RT Rob Havenstein: 47.4
- TE Tyler Higbee: 47.3
- RG Joe Noteboom: 43.9
It’s been a tough start to the season for Jefferson, who caught only one of his targets for 9 yards. He had a bad drop on third down and was the target on Stafford’s second interception, yielding a passer rating of 0.0 when targeted.
Jackson gave up six pressures against the 49ers, while Havenstein allowed three. They were both solid as run blockers, though, which helped their overall grades, but all five starting linemen had pass-blocking grades below 37.0.
Bottom 5 defense
- S Quentin Lake: 53.7
- S Jordan Fuller: 45.3
- OLB Michael Hoecht: 42.9
- CB Derion Kendrick: 37.2
- CB Cobie Durant: 29.5
Kendrick had a poor grade in this one despite allowing just two catches for 13 yards on five targets in coverage. The problem is he committed two penalties, including a pass interference in the end zone, and he missed one tackle.
Durant struggled in coverage, giving up four catches for 75 yards on six targets in coverage. He also missed a tackle of his own, too.
Lake played sparingly, only 10 snaps, so his grade should be taken with a grain of salt. But Fuller was out there for every snap and missed two tackles, allowing two receptions in coverage.
Hoecht had three pressures and made six tackles but PFF still gave him a pass-rush grade and run defense grade below 43.0.
Other notables
- LB Ernest Jones: 60.5
- OLB Byron Young: 57.5
- RG Tremayne Anchrum Jr.: 55.0
- LG Steve Avila: 53.3
Young tied for the team-high with three pressures and didn’t miss a tackle, so his grade was surprisingly low.
Like so many other defenders, Ernest Jones missed two tackles of his own and gave up 41 yards in coverage.
Anchrum graded out surprisingly well considering the protection seemed to break down when Noteboom went out. Avila allowed six pressures but was saved by his 61.4 run-blocking grade.
