The Rams’ second-to-last game of the regular season was a forgettable one, losing 31-10 to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. The offense could get absolutely nothing going, while the defense was gashed on the ground by Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley.
The grades are predictably lower in our penultimate report card of the season, with only one position group earning a grade higher than a B-.
Quarterback: C-
Baker Mayfield followed up a terrific performance against the Broncos with a dud against the Chargers. He only completed 11 of 19 passes for 132 yards, with just three of those completions coming in the second half. He showed poor pocket awareness on the play where he lost a fumble and even though he didn’t throw an interception, he wasn’t exactly accurate throwing the ball on Sunday.
Running back: A
Cam Akers was excellent in this game despite the bad outcome on the scoreboard. He rushed for 123 yards on only 19 carries, forcing a season-high seven missed tackles on those rushing attempts. Akers showed contact balance and agility throughout the game, with his only mistake being a dropped pass along the sideline early in the first. Malcolm Brown also turned his lone carry into a 23-yard touchdown, the Rams’ only score of a day.
Wide receiver: C
Van Jefferson was the only bright spot at wide receiver, catching three passes for 77 yards. Only two other wideouts even caught a pass, with Tutu Atwell hauling in one reception for 10 yards and Brandon Powell catching one for 3 yards. It was a terrible day for the Rams’ receivers with the exception of Jefferson, who made three big plays for first downs.
Tight end: C-
Tyler Higbee couldn’t keep up his hot streak with Mayfield at quarterback, only catching three passes for 11 yards. Brycen Hopkins caught a 21-yard pass and also helped spring Akers free for 42 yards with a key block on the play, so there have been worse performances by the Rams’ tight ends. But from a receiving perspective, there wasn’t much to write home about.
Offensive line: C
Mayfield was pressured eight times in the game, four of which were allowed by Rob Havenstein alone at right tackle. The offensive line struggled in pass protection, but the run blocking was better than usual, opening up good-sized holes for Akers and Brown to run through.
Defensive line: C
It’s hard to give the defensive line a positive grade when the team allows 192 yards on the ground and only hits the quarterback twice – with zero sacks. The Rams’ defensive front was not very good in this game, showing some weaknesses without Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson and for most of the game, Greg Gaines.
Inside linebacker: C-
Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones gave up a combined 69 yards on six receptions in coverage, so they weren’t at their best against the Chargers’ running backs and tight ends. Wagner missed one tackle in the loss, as well, which was part of the reason he was given his second-lowest overall grade of the season.
Outside linebacker: B-
Leonard Floyd led the team with four total pressures, continuing to do a nice job getting after the quarterback off the edge. Michael Hoecht had a solid showing, too, finishing with seven tackles and two pressures. Unfortunately, no other edge rushers had a single other pressure in the loss.
Cornerback: C-
Cobie Durant struggled a bit in this one, missing one tackle and giving up five catches for 64 yards on seven total targets. Troy Hill missed a tackle on Austin Ekeler’s 72-yard touchdown run, too. Jalen Ramsey was really the only bright spot at corner, but even he didn’t have a huge game on defense.
Safety: C-
Taylor Rapp gave up a touchdown to Donald Parham in the fourth quarter and took a bad angle on Ekeler’s touchdown run. Scott was also out of position on Ekeler’s long gallop and ended the day with two missed tackles.
Special teams: C+
Not much happened on special teams in this game. Matt Gay made a field goal and an extra point, but Brandon Powell didn’t return a single kickoff or punt. The Rams also didn’t allow a single kickoff return and gave up 26 yards on punt coverage.
