The Los Angeles Rams haven’t put together a performance like they had on Sunday in quite a while, getting great play out of both their offense and defense in a 51-14 win over the Broncos.
Pro Football Focus has been understandably hard on the Rams with their player grades each week but this time, the grades are mostly positive.
Cobie Durant and Bobby Wagner were major standouts, finishing the week as the highest-graded defender and seventh-highest graded, respectively.
Here’s a look at who graded our well on Sunday and who didn’t have their best.
Top 5 offense
- Tyler Higbee: 90.3
- Brycen Hopkins: 85:8
- Cam Akers: 81.0
- Rob Havenstein: 80.8
- Baker Mayfield: 70.1
It’s rare to see Higbee as the Rams’ highest-graded player on offense but he earned it this week with a fantastic two-touchdown performance. It was also great to see Hopkins up there because he played great as the No. 2 tight end.
Akers had his best game of the year, topping 100 yards rushing and scoring three touchdowns in the Rams’ win.
Havenstein thwarted the Broncos’ pass rushers, keeping them in check by allowing zero pressures or hits on the quarterback.
Mayfield was sharp against Denver, completing his first 11 passes and finishing the day with 230 yards and two touchdowns.
Top 5 defense
- Cobie Durant: 94.7
- Bobby Wagner: 91.9
- Leonard Floyd: 88.2
- Larrell Murchison: 76.4
- Greg Gaines: 73.6
Durant isn’t just the Rams’ highest-graded player of the week. He’s the highest-graded defender in the NFL for Week 16. That’s how well he played against the Broncos. He had two interceptions, including a pick-six, and allowed just two catches for 13 yards in coverage.
Wagner was close behind Durant as the seventh-best defender in the NFL this week, continuing to show he should have been voted a Pro Bowler.
Floyd finished the game with six total pressures and was unrelenting on the edge, constantly disrupting the Broncos offense.
Murchison took full advantage of his opportunities by generating three pressures and recording two sacks in his Rams debut.
Gaines was only credited with two total pressures and zero stops, so it was a fairly uneventful day for him despite his solid grade.
Bottom 5 offense
- Van Jefferson: 57.9
- Brandon Powell: 57.6
- Tutu Atwell: 56.1
- Coleman Shelton: 54.3
- Matt Skura: 50.9
Higbee was the Rams’ most productive pass catcher, with the wide receivers not doing a whole lot statistically. Jefferson had 19 yards, Atwell had 14 and Powell finished with 12 yards receiving, so they didn’t have a big impact.
Shelton‘s grade probably should’ve been a bit higher considering he allowed zero pressures but his run blocking grade of 51.5 hurt his overall score.
Shelton allowed the only pressure by the Rams’ offensive line in what was a banner day for the struggling group up front.
Bottom 5 defense
- Earnest Brown IV: 52.8
- Keir Thomas: 47.3
- Jonah Williams: 40.8
- Nick Scott: 40.3
- Troy Hill: 37.3
No real surprises among the Rams’ lowest-graded defenders, though Scott and Hill did have particularly bad games. Scott gave up 37 yards on two catches, while Hill allowed 72 in coverage.
Other notables
- Jalen Ramsey: 69.6
- Michael Hoecht: 68.3
- Ty Nsekhe: 64.6
Ramsey made a great play to give the Rams their third pick of the game, preventing a touchdown on a deep shot to the end zone.
Hoecht had a whopping seven pressures and PFF credited him with two sacks, which makes you wonder why he didn’t have a higher grade. It’s because his tackling grade was lowered by a single missed tackle.
Nsekhe didn’t allow any pressures, playing well at left tackle for the Rams.
