The Los Angeles Rams blew a 23-0 lead against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, allowing them to come all the way back and tie it in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the offense came through in overtime and scored a game-winning touchdown. After allowing the Colts to come from behind to force overtime, the Rams drove down the field to win 29-23 to improve to 2-2 on the season.
For the first half of the game, the Rams were rolling on both sides of the ball, and the game seemed like it was already over. But in the final two quarters, the Rams were unable to move the ball and rookie Anthony Richardson led the Colts on multiple scoring drives.
Following a thrilling win in overtime, here are our studs and duds from the Rams in their Week 4 matchup against the Colts.
Stud: Kyren Williams
Name a better duo than Kyren Williams and the end zone right now. The second-year back out of Notre Dame found the end zone two more times in the win over the Colts, giving him six total touchdowns through the first four weeks.
Besides scoring two more touchdowns, Williams had his first 100-yard rushing game of his career with 103 yards on 25 attempts. Williams continues to get the bulk of the running back touches for the Rams and he’s making the most of his opportunities.
Stud: Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua has gotten off to a historic start in his rookie season and he had another stellar outing on Sunday. The rookie wideout caught nine of his 10 targets for 163 yards and one touchdown, with his first career touchdown being the game-winner in overtime.
After setting multiple records in the first few weeks, Nacua now has the most receptions in a player’s first four career games with 39. There’s a chance Cooper Kupp makes his return in Week 5, but Nacua is a large reason why the offense has looked great amid his absence.
Stud: Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald is heating up this season as he’s now registered a sack in back-to-back weeks for the Rams. After tallying seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the All-Pro interior defender logged four tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack to aid the Rams in their win over the Colts.
Things aren’t easy for Donald as rookie Byron Young has been the only consistent contributor in the pass-rushing department for the Rams. That being said, Donald continues to show he is still one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL.
Stud: Ernest Jones
We are seeing plenty of growth from Ernest Jones early in the season and one of the defensive captains of the Rams had himself a day against the Colts. Jones and the Rams needed to be at their best against a dynamic quarterback like Richardson, and the third-year linebacker did his best to limit him.
Jones would register a team-high 10 tackles, along with one sack, and a tackle for loss. Through the first four weeks, Jones now has 38 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass breakup.
Dud: Tutu Atwell
Tutu Atwell was another receiver who has stepped up in a significant way until Kupp can return from injured reserve. But in Sunday’s overtime victory, Atwell was unable to generate any chunk plays, finishing with only 24 yards on five receptions.
Entering Week 4, Atwell had three straight games of posting at least 50 receiving yards to begin the season. Even though the Rams came out with the win, it was Atwell’s first quiet performance of the young campaign on Sunday against the Colts.
Dud: Van Jefferson
It has been a disappointing start to the season for Van Jefferson, and things didn’t get any better for the former second-round pick versus the Colts. After making a 16-yard reception early in the game, Jefferson still finished with only 29 receiving yards on two receptions.
Jefferson was expected to handle an expanded role in the Rams’ offense until Kupp was activated from injured reserve. However, through the first four weeks, Jefferson has become an afterthought behind Nacua and Atwell in the passing game.
Dud: Brett Maher
Brett Maher has been solid for the Rams in the first few weeks, but he didn’t deliver when the team needed him to in Week 4. While the veteran kicker made three field goals on Sunday, he also missed two field goals from 46 and 48 yards. If Maher hadn’t missed either of those kicks, the Rams wouldn’t have had to drive the length of the field in overtime to escape with a win.
