It was a drubbing at Lambeau Field on Monday night, with the Green Bay Packers beating the Los Angeles Rams, 24-12, to officially eliminate Sean McVay’s squad from playoff contention. As ugly as the game was, there were actually some bright spots for the Rams – as well as some poor performances.
Here’s our list of studs and duds from the Rams’ loss to the Packers in Green Bay, their 10th defeat of the year.
Stud: Matt Gay
In what’s been a frustrating season for the Rams, Gay has been a stud all year. He drilled a 55-yard field goal in the freezing conditions Monday night, only the third time anyone’s made a 50-plus yarder at Lambeau Field with the temperature under 25 degrees. He’s probably the NFL’s second-best kicker behind Justin Tucker. Yeah, he missed a PAT, but it didn’t end up making a difference because the Rams weren’t going to come back anyway.
Stud: Bobby Wagner
Wagner continues to have an excellent season for the Rams. He was all over the field on defense, coming up to make tackles at and around the line of scrimmage multiple times. Wagner has been arguably the Rams’ best player this year, excelling as a run defender, in particular. The Packers ran the ball well but they would’ve put up even bigger numbers if not for Wagner.
Stud: Cam Akers
Akers had a favorable matchup against the Packers’ paltry run defense and he took full advantage. He rushed for 65 yards and caught three passes for another 35 yards, doing it all out of the backfield for Los Angeles. It’s about time the Rams got him involved as a receiver because that’s an underrated part of his game. His 19-yard run late in the game was his longest of the season.
Rumblin' to down inside the 10!
3️⃣ @thereal_cam3 | 📺 @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/Rh09XPceMW
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 20, 2022
Stud: Leonard Floyd
Floyd loves to tackle Aaron Rodgers. He brought down Rodgers for two sacks on Monday night, giving him nine career sacks against the future Hall of Famer. Finding production out of their edge rushers has been a struggle all year for the Rams but Floyd was fantastic at outside linebacker. In addition to the two sacks, Floyd had five tackles and three QB hits.
Big stop from Flo! 😤
5️⃣4️⃣ @Leonard90Flo | 📺 @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/kgZrj897GM
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 20, 2022
Stud: Jalen Ramsey
Not only did Ramsey help erase Christian Watson, but he came up with a huge play in the game when he stripped Aaron Jones of the football in the fourth quarter to force a turnover. It was a heads-up play by the All-Pro corner, ripping it away from Jones after it seemed like his forward progress had been stopped.
OUR BALL!
5️⃣ @jalenramsey | 📺 @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/9z54eGH1DY
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 20, 2022
Dud: Rob Havenstein
Havenstein allowed a sack early in the game to Preston Smith and then let Kenny Clark land a hit on Mayfield that resulted in a fourth-quarter interception. Havenstein was supposed to be the Rams’ steadiest lineman this season amid all the turnover up front, but he’s really struggled in several games this season, including Monday’s loss. He gave up far too much pressure on the right side, which had Mayfield rattled in the pocket.
Dud: Troy Hill
Hill was in coverage on several of the Packers’ big plays, particularly the ones that picked up first downs on third. He also missed a couple of tackles in the open field, which has been a trouble spot for him all year. It’s not necessarily his fault that the Rams play off coverage so frequently, but he wasn’t close to the receiver on a handful of receptions he allowed.
Dud: Baker Mayfield
After an incredible comeback in his Rams debut, Mayfield regressed against the Packers. He completed just 12 of 21 passes for 111 yards with one touchdown and an interception, and he very easily could’ve had two or three picks. Mayfield looked uncomfortable behind the Rams’ shaky offensive line and made a few careless throws that were nearly intercepted. He threw behind and short of his receivers too often, as well, including a throw to Tutu Atwell in the end zone that should’ve been a touchdown.
Dud: Officiating
The officiating was flat-out terrible with some truly awful calls against both teams. Most of the questionable penalties went against the Rams, but both teams were hurt by over-officiating from Shawn Hochuli’s crew. The Rams were flagged for eight penalties for 76 yards, while the Packers were called for four totaling 80 yards. It was a frustrating night with the game being stopped constantly for flags that were questionable at best.
