The Rams couldn’t hold onto a late lead against the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, losing at home, 27-23. It was their sixth straight loss, guaranteeing a losing season for the first time under Sean McVay.
It wasn’t all bad in this loss as there were actually some impressive performances from a handful of players, but the quarterback wasn’t good enough and the defense broke when it needed to hold at the end.
Here’s a look at some notable grades on each side of the ball, according to Pro Football Focus.
Top 5 offense
- WR Brandon Powell: 90.1
- WR Tutu Atwell: 78.0
- RT Rob Havenstein: 69.3
- WR Austin Trammell: 67.2
- TE Tyler Higbee: 65.8
Powell provided a spark on offense for the Rams, gaining 84 total yards on seven touches – an average of 12 yards per touch. It was unquestionably the best game of his career and he showed he deserves even more opportunities moving forward.
Atwell was highly impactful, too, putting up a career-high 71 yards from scrimmage on six touches, including a fantastic one-handed grab.
Havenstein was the Rams’ most effective offensive lineman once again, continuing to play at a high level despite there being a revolving door next to him at the other four spots.
Trammell surprisingly got some playing time in this one, but he caught just one pass for 8 yards.
Higbee only caught two of his five targets for 15 yards and dropped one pass, though PFF didn’t put that drop on him.
Top 5 defense
- NT Bobby Brown III: 87.3
- LB Bobby Wagner: 80.5
- OLB Michael Hoecht: 77.4
- CB Cobie Durant: 71.0
- DL Marquise Copeland: 69.2
Aaron Donald and A’Shawn Robinson were both out for this game, which gave Brown additional opportunities. He took advantage, recording two pressures and one stop. He showed great power as an interior rusher, which was encouraging to see.
Wagner, as we mentioned, had himself a fantastic game against his former team, recording seven tackles, two sacks and one interception. The only surprising thing is that his grade wasn’t higher.
Hoecht has been a stud at outside linebacker since changing positions, also tallying two sacks and a team-best five pressures.
Durant finally got some playing time and stepped up like the Rams hoped he would, breaking up a second-down pass late in the fourth quarter.
Copeland didn’t have a pressure but his 74.6 run defense grade was the second-best on the team.
Bottom 5 offense
- C Brian Allen: 59.9
- LG Matt Skura: 57.5
- RG Coleman Shelton: 56.3
- RB Kyren Williams: 55.0
- QB John Wolford: 41.8
Allen actually had the second-best pass-blocking grade of his career at 85.2, but his run blocking grade of 60.0 weighed down his overall grade. It’s hard to see how he deserved a grade below 60.0, though.
Skura gave up three total pressures and actually played relatively well in pass protection, but he struggled in the running game, too.
It was a similar story for Shelton, who gave up two pressures but had a run blocking grade of 51.9.
Williams didn’t play much in this one and he wasn’t very productive when he did get the ball, either. He gained 9 yards on three carries.
Finally, there’s Wolford. He had three turnover-worthy plays, fumbling it once and throwing two interceptions. He can’t really push the ball down the field because of his lack of arm strength, limiting the offense considerably.
Bottom 5 defense
- DL Jonah Williams: 57.0
- CB David Long Jr.: 56.8
- LB Ernest Jones: 48.3
- S Nick Scott: 44.8
- S Russ Yeast: 37.8
Williams had one pressure on 40 pass-rush opportunities, so he didn’t exactly do much in that department. He was decent as a run defender, though.
Long gave up two catches on two targets totaling 27 yards, so he actually wasn’t as bad in coverage as it seemed. But he did appear to give up a touchdown on Noah Fant’s score.
Jones missed one tackle and gave up six catches for 40 yards on six targets in coverage, so it was an uncharacteristically poor game for the second-year linebacker.
Scott and Yeast were two of the lowest-graded players for the Rams. They combined to give up 71 yards in coverage, while Yeast missed one tackle in his limited action, too.
Other notables
- CB Derion Kendrick: 65.5
- RB Cam Akers: 61.5
- CB Jalen Ramsey: 57.5
Kendrick was pegged with allowing four catches on four targets, totaling 68 yards. Yet, he had the fourth-best coverage grade on the team. He was also given a surprisingly high tackling grade of 82.6.
Akers had one of his better games, gaining 60 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 17 total carries.
Ramsey only allowed 17 yards in coverage, but one of the two catches he gave up was the game-winner to DK Metcalf.
