The Los Angeles Rams’ season came to an end on Sunday night in Detroit, suffering a 24-23 loss to the Lions on the road. It was a valiant performance by Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and others, but the Rams were ineffective in the red zone and on third down.
The result was a gut-wrenching wild-card loss to a very good team they went toe-to-toe with for 60 minutes in a riveting playoff game. There were some standout performances by Rams players, as well as some who struggled and were exposed in the loss.
Here are the Rams’ studs and duds from Sunday’s game.
Stud: Matthew Stafford
Stafford played about as well as he possibly could have. Not only did he do a great job getting the ball out quickly to avoid pressure in the pocket, but he was accurate throwing all over the field even when he had defenders bearing down on him.
He only missed a couple of throws, most notably a shot to Cooper Kupp down the left sideline where he was wide open, but he more than made up with it by completing some ridiculous passes — including a no-look sidearm throw to Davis Allen on the opening drive.
He finished with 367 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25 of his 36 passes in the loss. He also didn’t have a turnover, playing a clean game against the Lions.
Stud: Puka Nacua
Nacua was the top rookie receiver all regular season and one of the top wideouts anywhere in the NFL throughout the year, and he continued to play at a remarkably high level on Sunday night. He went over 100 yards in the first half alone and finished the game with nine catches for 181 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown. He made tough catch after tough catch, going over the middle and making grabs in traffic all night.
His 181 yards are the most ever by a rookie in a playoff game, setting yet another record in what will go down as one of the best rookie seasons ever.
Stud: Ernest Jones
Jones missed his share of tackles, which undoubtedly hurt his overall performance, but he was all over the field and the Rams’ best pass rusher. He had nine tackles and two sacks, also recording one tackle for a loss. He even forced a fumble where he pressured Goff into a bad decision, hurling the ball backwards toward a teammate.
Stud: Kevin Dotson
The protection was actually solid for Los Angeles, with the exception of a few great rushes by Aidan Hutchinson, and Dotson was a big part of that. He did an excellent job on the interior, keeping pass rushers away from Stafford, while also clearing some big running lanes for Kyren Williams in the second half.
Hutchinson landed five hits on Stafford but none were allowed by Dotson and there were only two other QB hits combined by Lions defenders.
Dud: Ahkello Witherspoon
Witherspoon did not have a good time trying to cover the Lions' receivers. He was beat several times in coverage, either by Josh Reynolds or Amon-Ra St. Brown. He missed a tackle on St. Brown on third down, allowing a 14-yard reception in the first half. He then got beat for 23 yards on third-and-15, and again on third-and-6 when St. Brown gained 30 yards down the right sideline.
Witherspoon isn't known for his speed, and his lack of quickness was on full display against the shifty St. Brown, who won regularly at the line of scrimmage.
Dud: Michael Hoecht
Hoecht is a defensive tackle-turned-outside linebacker. That's not a transition many players make, but he's somehow made it work. That being said, he struggled badly on Sunday night any time he wasn't rushing the passer.
Far too often, Raheem Morris dropped Hoecht into coverage, which flat-out didn't work. He gave up an easy touchdown to Sam LaPorta, missed a tackle on Jahmyr Gibbs that resulted in a 14-yard reception, and he missed a tackle on David Montgomery during the Lions' final drive that helped ice the game.
Between missed tackles, poor rushes and mismatches in coverage, Hoecht had a long night.
Dud: Cooper Kupp
Kupp has finally reached the end of the 2023 season and he can now recover from whatever injuries have plagued him for much of the year. He never seemed to fully recover from his ankle sprain and in the second half of the season, he lacked explosiveness as a receiver; his longest catch in the last three games was 12 yards.
He finished with five catches for 27 yards on Sunday night despite being targeted nine times, including three times in the red zone. It was a disappointing finish to a disappointing season.
