The Los Angeles Rams were able to bounce back from last week’s 23-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 26-9 on Sunday. With their Week 6 win over the Cardinals, the Rams have improved to 3-3 on the season.
The Rams were down 9-6 at halftime to the Cardinals before outscoring them 20-0 in the final two quarters. Moving the ball and scoring in the second half has been an issue for the Rams this season, so it was a positive sign to see them deliver when they needed to on Sunday.
Following the lopsided win against the Cardinals, here are our studs and duds from the Rams in Week 6.
Stud: RB Kyren Williams
Kyren Williams has been a workhorse for the Rams this season and he put together his best game on Sunday versus the Cardinals. The second-year back carried the ball 20 times for a career-best 158 yards and a touchdown in the double-digit win, 154 yards of which came in the second half alone.
Williams left the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, but Sean McVay expects him to be OK. Nevertheless, Williams showed some explosiveness with multiple big runs in Week 6, which is something the Rams’ rushing attack could use moving forward.
Stud: WR Cooper Kupp
In his second game back from a hamstring injury, Cooper Kupp showed that he is still the No. 1 option for Matthew Stafford. The All-Pro pass catcher led the Rams in targets (9), receptions (7), and receiving yards (148) for the second straight week.
Kupp also caught his first touchdown of the season and made an impressive third-down catch in the second half to keep a drive alive. It’s safe to say Kupp is officially back for the Rams and this offense should continue to improve as long as he remains healthy.
Stud: OLB Byron Young
Byron Young has been the best edge rusher for the Rams this season, and he continued that trend versus the Cardinals. The rookie pass rusher tallied six combined tackles and a sack in the 17-point win.
Young also recorded a forced fumble that the Rams would recover in the second half, helping them shutout the Cardinals in the final two quarters. The Rams will need Young to continue showing flashes off of the edge to give them some sort of production in the pass-rushing department outside of Aaron Donald.
Dud: WR Puka Nacua
While rookie Puka Nacua still had a notable outing in Kupp’s debut last week, the same can’t be said in the win over the Cardinals. Nacua recorded season-low marks in targets (7), receptions (4), and receiving yards (26) with Kupp being the lone contributor in the passing game.
The young receiver also dropped a touchdown in the game as he’s shown some drop issues in recent weeks. Even with Kupp back in the fold, Nacua should have better games ahead.
Dud: WR Tutu Atwell
Before Kupp returned, Nacua and Tutu Atwell were the top two options for Stafford in the passing game. But with Kupp back on the field, Atwell has taken a step back in the aerial attack as Stafford now has his go-to target available.
Atwell caught his lone target for 30 yards against the Cardinals, giving him only three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown in the first two weeks with Kupp active. The speedy wideout now seems exclusively locked into a vertical role in the offense as he’ll see fewer snaps in the slot with Kupp and Nacua above him on the depth chart.
Dud: TE Tyler Higbee
Another offensive player who will see a minimized role with Kupp back is Tyler Higbee. Higbee registered two receptions for 18 yards on three targets against the Cardinals.
The veteran tight end now has four catches for 48 yards in his first two games with Kupp active this season. As long as Kupp and Nacua are healthy, Higbee will be the No. 3 option — at best — in the passing game for the Rams.
