Another week, another loss for the Rams – this one equally as painful as the previous three. They’ve now lost four games in a row for the first time in Sean McVay’s career, sinking to 3-7 on the year.
Here’s a look at some of the Pro Football Focus grades from the Rams’ 27-20 loss to the Saints on Sunday afternoon. The offense had some higher grades than the defense, which shows that side of the ball wasn’t solely to blame for the loss.
Top 5 offense
- QB Matthew Stafford: 90.6
- RB Kyren Williams: 74.1
- QB Bryce Perkins: 70.2
- WR Allen Robinson: 69.2
- RB Cam Akers: 69.0
Stafford was playing well before leaving the game, as evidenced by his 90.6 grade. It was actually his highest grade all season, which makes his exit even more unfortunate.
Williams played the most of any running back and made the most of his touches, which helped his overall grade of 74.1
Perkins actually filled in nicely for Stafford, bringing his own flare to the offense thanks to his mobility.
Robinson tied for the team high with four receptions, gaining 47 yards with one touchdown. He caught four of the five passes that came his way.
Akers led the team with 61 yards rushing but wasn’t targeted a single time as a receiver.
Top 5 defense
- DT Aaron Donald: 90.6
- LB Bobby Wagner: 84.6
- OLB Leonard Floyd: 80.4
- NT Greg Gaines: 79.1
- NT Marquise Copeland: 70.4
Donald was held without a sack but he had two tackles for a loss and one QB hit, recording five total pressures in the loss.
Wagner led the team with 11 tackles, five more than any other Rams defender had.
Floyd put together his second two-sack game of the season, taking down the quarterback twice on Sunday. Greg Gaines also had two sacks, giving the Rams four total in the game.
Marquise Copeland helped fill in for A’Shawn Robinson at defensive end after he went down with an injury. He made two stops in the running game.
Bottom 5 offense
- WR Lance McCutcheon: 56.2
- WR Brandon Powell: 54.6
- WR Ben Skowronek: 50.4
- LG Matt Skura: 50.3
- LT Bobby Evans: 34.2
McCutcheon only played 10 snaps and didn’t receive a single target, so he wasn’t a factor.
Powell and Skowronek combined for three receptions and 20 yards on six targets, struggling to make much of an impact.
Along the offensive line, Skura and Evans were two weak links. Evans’ pass blocking grade was 13.9 after allowing five pressures, while Skura gave up two pressures.
Bottom 5 defense
- CB David Long Jr.: 55.0
- S Taylor Rapp: 54.1
- CB Troy Hill: 53.2
- OLB Justin Hollins: 48.8
- OLB Terrell Lewis: 45.7
There’s a common theme among this group. The cornerbacks struggled in coverage and Hill missed one tackle, while the edge rushers, Hollins and Lewis, had zero combined pressures and only one tackle.
Rapp gave up one touchdown in coverage and had five tackles in the loss.
Other notables
- WR Tutu Atwell: 96.0
- LT Ty Nsekhe: 68.7
- TE Tyler Higbee: 61.6
- CB Jalen Ramsey: 58.6
- LB Ernest Jones: 58.0
Atwell only played seven snaps and ran just one route, blocking in the running game on the six other snaps. His catch went for 62 yards and a touchdown, though.
Nsekhe was playing well before getting hurt and being replaced by Bobby Evans, which was quite the change at left tackle.
Higbee dropped one pass, which lowered his grade. He now has five drops on the year.
Ramsey was targeted a team-high six times and gave up five catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. His coverage grade was surprisingly still 54.9.
Jones had one pressure but only made three tackles.
