Finally, after six losses in a row, the Rams broke through for their first win since Week 6 – which feels like ages ago. They shocked the Raiders with a last-second victory, scoring a 23-yard touchdown on a pass from Baker Mayfield to Van Jefferson with 9 seconds to play.
The Rams were once again without many of their stars, but they welcomed a former No. 1 overall pick to the team when they claimed Mayfield off waivers; he promptly led them to a win two days later.
Here’s a breakdown of the snap counts on offense and defense, showing how much each player was on the field.
Offense
This was the first time all season that the Rams started an offensive line combination in consecutive games, and all five starters played every snap. That’s encouraging to see.
Ben Skowronek played every snap at wide receiver, with Van Jefferson only missing two snaps as the No. 2 wideout. Tutu Atwell played a career-high 39 snaps as his role continues to grow. Brandon Powell and Austin Trammell played 14 and 12 snaps, respectively. Powell was listed as questionable Wednesday due to an illness, so that could be the reason for his limited snaps.
Tyler Higbee played 61 snaps compared to just four for Brycen Hopkins. That’s been the trend lately.
Cam Akers continues to handle the bulk of the work at running back despite only playing 42% of the snaps. Kyren Williams played 30% and Malcolm Brown played the other 28%.
Mayfield didn’t start the game but he came in and played every snap after John Wolford handled the first three plays – all handoffs.
Defense
Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill remained the top two cornerbacks, but the Rams were without David Long Jr. That caused a change at corner, with rookie Cobie Durant drawing the start as the nickel defender; he played 37 of 60 possible snaps, overtaking fellow rookie Derion Kendrick, who did not play a single defensive snap.
Bobby Wagner played every snap again, and Ernest Jones was out there for nearly three-quarters of the game. Christian Rozeboom subbed in for two snaps, too.
Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp each played 58 of 60 snaps as the starting safeties. Russ Yeast was the No. 3 option, playing seven snaps on defense.
Jonah Williams played the most of any defensive lineman, taking the field for 93% of the snaps. Greg Gaines played 83%, and Marquise Copeland played 60%. They were the primary defensive linemen, with Bobby Brown and Earnest Brown IV playing sparingly.
Leonard Floyd and Michael Hoecht were once again the primary edge rushers, playing most of the game. Keir Thomas and Daniel Hardy played nine snaps and eight snaps, respectively.
