The Rams offense struggled once again on Sunday against the Cardinals, scoring just 17 points – with seven of those points coming in garbage time on the final drive. The defense didn’t do its job, either, giving up 27 points to the Kyler Murray-less Cardinals.
Pro Football Focus released grades for every player on offense and defense, and there weren’t many positive performances. No offensive starter graded above a 70.0, but four defensive starters finished with grades of at least 69.0.
Here’s a look at some notable players.
Top 5 offense
- RB Cam Akers: 80.7
- WR Van Jefferson: 73.1
- WR Allen Robinson: 66.9
- TE Tyler Higbee: 65.1
- RT Rob Havenstein: 64.1
Akers only played 10 snaps and had six carries for 22 yards, but he was the team’s highest-graded offensive player. Jefferson and his 17 snaps played weren’t far behind as the second-best offensive player.
Allen Robinson meshed well with John Wolford and caught four passes for 44 yards, but it wasn’t his best game of the season.
Tyler Higbee came alive with a team-high eight catches for 73 yards, but he was given a 48.7 run blocking grade. Rob Havenstein struggled and only had a grade of 64.1, but he was the top-graded offensive lineman, which tells you a lot.
Top 5 defense
- S Nick Scott: 82.6
- LB Bobby Wagner: 79.8
- S Taylor Rapp: 73.3
- DT Aaron Donald: 69.3
- LB Ernest Jones: 66.3
Scott finished with nine tackles in the game, tied for the second-most on the team. Wagner was right there with him, also recording nine tackles, as well as a sack. Jones led the team with a total of 10 tackles.
Rapp missed a few plays with an injury but still made six tackles. Donald put together an OK performance in PFF’s eyes despite making seven tackles and landing one QB hit.
Bottom 5 offense
- LG Coleman Shelton: 55.0
- WR Cooper Kupp: 54.6
- WR Ben Skowronek: 50.4
- TE Brycen Hopkins: 46.9
- QB John Wolford: 45.0
Wolford really struggled in this one and had the lowest grade of any Rams player. He was inaccurate from the pocket and threw one interception, really only succeeding from outside the pocket.
Kupp had his worst game as a pro, though it wasn’t his fault. He finished with three receptions for minus-1 yard before injuring his ankle.
Skowronek caught three of their nine targets for 25 yards, so they didn’t help much on offense.
Shelton allowed two pressures, which were tied for the second-most on the team. Brian Allen gave up a whopping five.
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Troy Hill: 55.3
- NT Marquise Copeland: 54.7
- OLB Leonard Floyd: 54.1
- DE A’Shawn Robinson: 53.7
- OLB Justin Hollins: 47.2
Hill allowed five catches on six targets for 42 yards with no passes broken up.
Neither Floyd nor Hollins had very good games. Hollins landed one hit on the quarterback and registered two total pressures, while Floyd had one pressure, which he turned into a sack.
Copeland got the start in place of Greg Gaines but he made just two tackles and missed one attempt. Robinson’s grade should’ve been a bit higher because he played relatively well with two pressures, two tackles for a loss and two QB hits.
Other notables
- CB David Long Jr.: 58.9
- CB Jalen Ramsey: 58.7
- RB Darrell Henderson Jr.: 57.6
None of the Rams’ cornerbacks played well, but many probably expected Long’s grade to be lower than it was. He gave up three catches for 46 yards and one touchdown, but his defense late in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals put the nail in the coffin was costly, allowing two big catches on third and fourth down and then failing to set the edge.
Ramsey was the most-targeted player on defense, allowing eight catches on 11 targets for 71 yards, most of which was by DeAndre Hopkins.
Henderson forced the only missed tackle of any Rams runner and scored a touchdown on a 4-yard carry up the middle.
