We’ve had a few days to reflect on the Rams’ season-opening loss to the Bills, an ugly 31-10 defeat at home. The concerns about the offensive line have grown now that Brian Allen is out, while the defense has plenty of work to do, too.
As we’ll do every week, we graded each position group on the team from Week 1 in our first report card of the year. As you’d probably expect, there weren’t many bright spots from the opener.
Quarterback: C-
Matthew Stafford did not play well, but it wasn’t completely his fault. He was sacked seven times due to poor pass protection, and even when he wasn’t planted on his back, he was under heavy pressure.
However, he can certainly play much better. His first interception was a terrible pass that was way behind Tyler Higbee. Another pick was on a no-look throw over the middle, which sailed high over Cooper Kupp. Stafford must improve and cut down on the turnovers because they were costly against Buffalo.
Running back: C
There wasn’t much running room for the backs on Thursday night, another result of the offensive line playing poorly. Darrell Henderson Jr. still managed to gain 47 yards on 13 carries, but 18 of those yards came on one play.
Cam Akers was a complete dud, touching the ball only three times and gaining zero yards on a single play. Henderson did add 26 yards receiving, but as a whole, the running backs were ineffective.
Wide receiver: B-
Cooper Kupp carried the receiving corps in the opener, catching 13 of his 15 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown. The Rams’ other wideouts caught a total of six passes for 47 yards on 10 targets. Ben Skowronek had 25 yards, Allen Robinson was only targeted twice and had a single reception, and Brandon Powell caught his only target for 10 yards.
Tutu Atwell dropped the only pass that came his way and still has not recorded a reception in the NFL. Other than Kupp, it was a poor showing from the receivers.
Tight end: C+
Higbee was the only tight end who played a meaningful role, catching five of 11 targets for 39 yards. He wasn’t great as a blocker and his impact as a receiver was minimal, but he also didn’t get any serious opportunities to make plays down the field.
Offensive line: F
Stafford was sacked seven times, hit 15 times and was pressured on 19 of his dropbacks – more than any other game last season. It was a complete disaster up front for the Rams, both in pass protection and blocking in the running game.
Joe Noteboom was overmatched by Von Miller, which was no surprise. Jordan Phillips dominated against David Edwards, and not even Rob Havenstein had a good performance on the right side.
Defensive line: C+
Aaron Donald flashed early in the game with a sack and a great play against the run to bring down the ball carrier, but he was very quiet in the second half. No other defensive lineman had a hit on the quarterback or a tackle for a loss, either.
It’s not as if the Bills’ running backs ran all over the Rams, but the defensive line didn’t get enough push up front and Josh Allen had plenty of time to survey the field.
Inside linebacker: A-
Bobby Wagner has clearly lost a step, but he was a bright spot on a defense that otherwise played poorly. He made a great play on a screen pass, sacked Allen on a well-timed blitz and finished second on the team with seven tackles.
Ernest Jones might’ve been even better, though. Jones had seven tackles and a forced fumble, showing great range and speed in the middle of the field. He probably deserves even more playing time than he’s gotten.
Outside linebacker: D
The highlight of this group was Terrell Lewis’ interception. Otherwise, Leonard Floyd and Justin Hollins were pretty much non-factors. Floyd didn’t record a single pressure in the game, and Hollins didn’t get very close to Allen, either.
There were concerns about the edge rushers coming into this game and they did nothing to dispel those worries.
Cornerback: D
Jalen Ramsey had one of the worst performances of his career, giving up a perfect passer rating in coverage and allowing two touchdown passes – if you include the one to Gabriel Davis where he rushed Allen.
Troy Hill made a great play to intercept Allen over the middle, but David Long Jr. gave up a big play to Davis where he was just beat badly in coverage. The corners must play better moving forward, especially if the pass rush is going to struggle to generate pressure.
Safety: B+
It’s very clear that Nick Scott deserves to be the Rams’ top safety. He forced one fumble and broke up a pass, and he should’ve been credited with another forced fumble on a hit in the hole against James Cook. He finished with seven tackles, while Taylor Rapp had four and Jordan Fuller made two.
There’s still room for improvement from this group, but Scott’s ascent has been fun to watch and he should just keep getting better.
Special teams: B-
Matt Gay absolutely drilled a 57-yard field goal that looked like it would’ve been good from 65-plus, showing he still has one of the strongest legs in the NFL. Riley Dixon did a decent job in his Rams debut, but the return game was a weakness.
Brandon Powell made a terrible decision to return the opening second-half kickoff for just 12 yards, and even his first return of the game went for just 17 yards. His longest return was 21 yards, and while the blocking wasn’t great, neither was his decision-making.
