Los Angeles Rams Winners And Losers: Week Six

The Los Angeles Rams had arguably the most boring game of the week in the best way possible as they kicked the Giants around like a hacky sack on Sunday. Not many saw a different outcome coming but it was a welcome change of pace after the stress of the last two disconcerting games against the NFC West. However, that said, some players had an equally fun day while others felt present only physically. Here are some of the winners and losers from the Rams’ beatdown of the New York Giants.

Los Angeles Rams Winners and Losers: Week Four

Winners

Offense

The entire offense gets a gold star for their performance this week. Putting up 38 points will beat almost any team single-handily. After a slow start, the team found its groove and essentially put up 38 points in three quarters. This shows that the Rams can put up points at any time. Meaning, if the Rams ever get in a hole at any point this season, the players will get to remember this game as a reason why they can still make up any deficit.

This is an offensive performance that helps create a foundation for the future. Without an explosion like this, a future deficit may have felt insurmountable. However, since the Los Angeles Rams now have lived through a late offensive explosion, they will have an extra layer of resolve that they did not have before.

Defense

The defense essentially held the Giants to three points in this game. Outside of the early field goal, the Giants’ offense simply watched the time tick by for three hours as they were unable to get anything going. Forget about the late touchdown and the resulting scorigami, as the Rams had already won the game by the time this happened.

Heading into the season, the Los Angeles Rams defense was expected to be a top-tier group. With the exception of the Week One performance in which they held the Bears to 14 points, the defense has been a bit of a disappointment. However, it was not in this game. The Rams’ defense looked like Brandon Staley had never left. This gives hope that Raheem Morris’ scheme only took time to sink in and that it wasn’t an out-and-out bust.

This also gives hope that the Rams could win with their defense on occasion. The best teams can win with their defense and their offense. While the offense showed up to play, the defense could have won the game on their own in this game if the Rams offense had a dismal day in which they only scored 13 points.

Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford is much more mortal in Week Six than he was in Week Three. That said, he looked much more immortal in this game in which he threw for four touchdowns and one interception. It was his second-best game of the year.

Since the Buccaneers game, some worried that Stafford had peaked in his win against the Buccanneers and had been coming back to earth over the ensuing weeks. However, by rebounding against the Giants, he proved that, while he can hit some valleys at times, he can also return to tip-top shape. He wasn’t “figured out,” but instead only had a momentary setback. More may come in the future, but he’s proven he can recover with the Rams. This gives the team that much more confidence in the quarterback.

Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods

While Cooper Kupp clearly stole the day with nine receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns, Robert Woods still played a notable role in the victory. Kupp is back to looking like one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and is only 15 yards behind Davante Adams for the top spot on the receiving leaderboard. That said, with seven touchdowns compared to Adams’ two, Kupp already has a case to be the better of the two this season.

Circling back to Woods, the receiver caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. While it was a step back from his performances over the last few weeks, it shows that Woods’ floor is higher than it was at the beginning of the season. In Week One, Woods only had one reception for seven yards. While his production slipped in this game, it is hard to believe that Woods will fall any farther than what he did in this game. If his new floor is getting a touchdown in every game or big receptions and yardage but no touchdowns, he should be thrilled after the sluggish start to his year.

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Losers

Sean McVay’s opening scripting process

This week’s game was the second game in a row that the Rams didn’t score a point in the first quarter. As such, a new pattern is beginning to form. Of course, the Rams took off shortly after. However, it is beginning to be a problem and something needs to change early in games. That said, while Sean McVay isn’t the only one to blame, the start of a football game is often a direct result of the coaching.

All of the pent-up feelings and analysis are spent in the first quarter. If the coaches aren’t managing their players’ emotions correctly or are drawing up ineffective opening game scripts, it shows. McVay’s Rams need to push themselves to begin faster, as not every team is going to wait for the Rams’ offense to wake up in the second quarter. If the Rams fall in too big of a hole against a tough opponent, it could be too much to overcome over the next three quarters.

John Wolford

John Wolford’s moment as the backup quarterback wonder may have ended on Sunday. In his first real game action since playing in the playoffs last season, Wolford didn’t complete either of his two pass attempts and threw an interception. Granted, many backup quarterbacks struggle in their first action out of the blue, but nevertheless, Wolford’s intrigue was dealt its first big blow on Sunday. With Bryce Perkins still quietly on the depth chart, this performance could be the first event in the narrative that results in Perkins moving up the depth chart in the future.