In a a tale of two halves, the Los Angeles Rams snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Sunday, losing to the home-team Philadelphia Eagles 33-26. L.A. had two 4th quarter field goals blocked, either of which would have provided a margin for victory. To add insult to injury, the second swat was picked up […]
In a a tale of two halves, the Los Angeles Rams snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Sunday, losing to the home-team Philadelphia Eagles 33-26. L.A. had two 4th quarter field goals blocked, either of which would have provided a margin for victory. To add insult to injury, the second swat was picked up by a 330 lineman and returned for at touch down at the final gun.
Who to blame? Plenty to go around in a devastating loss. Let go position-by-position.
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford went all the way (66, 100%) and again suffered too many hits. While he a couple of nice throw’s, he was off the whole game, just enough to miss a number of big plays. Plays that could have changed the outcome of the game.
Running back
L.A. got some real mileage of the two-headed rotation. Kyren Williams was still the go-to guy (50, 76%) rolling to 122 run/pass yards and although Blake Corum (16, 24%) was down a couple of reps, he ran for 53 yards on eight carries. The Rams didn’t follow last week’s plan of each back getting a series, opting for sporadic individual plays. The two backs complimented each other, Williams primarily up the middle and Corum working from off tackle outward.
Wide receiver
Puka Nacua (60, 91%) continued to show why he should be included when talking about the league’s best. Although Davante Adams (57, 86%) disappeared in the second half, he was loose deep a number of times early in the game and could have had a monster game. He was scuttled by a couple of QB misfires and had his hands on a couple of others that fell to the ground. Only four short targets for seven total yards amongst Jordan Whittington (33, 50%), Tutu Atwell (25, 38%), and Konata Mumpfield (7, 11%). Xavier Smith didn’t work on offense.
Tight end
If you were going to notice Tyler Higbee (36, 55%), Davis Allen (25, 38%), and Colby Parkinson (21, 32%), it would have to be their blocking. The trio had a grand total of three targets, one catch, and three yards.
Offensive line
Kevin Dotson (58, 88%) tweaked an ankle and missed eight snaps. The other starters Alaric Jackson, Justin Dedich, Coleman Shelton, and Rob Havenstein played in all 66 snaps. Beaux Limmer (8, 12%) subbed in for Dotson and struggled. But with Stafford hit seven times on the day, he fit in.
Special teams
Xavier Smith showed that if the outside blockers can hold up the gunners and provide him a little space, he can cause trouble. I’d prefer to see him returning kickoffs, as well. There’s no reason for the opposition to kick towards the better weapon, Jordan Whittington. Having Smith back would nuetralize this. Corum is a good runner, but not really cut for return work. I understand that the Rams want to reward him with touches, but his style is a better in tighter spaces.
Karty had that knuckleball kickoff down pat and really gives an edge to the coverage group. Evans had only one punt and dropped it inside the 20. The field goal blocking was fine, until it wasn’t. More about that in final thought.
Defensive line
A strong game for the interior and another outing with a deep rotation. Kobie Turner (44, 66%), Tyler Davis (32, 48%), Poona Ford (27, 40%), and Braden Fiske (25, 37%) combined to clamp down the Philly run game to 86 yards on 27 carries, a 3.2 per carry clip.They also did a good job of keeping Eagle QB Jalen Hurts from breaking the pocket, forcing him to win from the pocket. Ty Hamilton (10, 15%) and Larrell Murchison (8, 12%) were down a few reps each from last week.
Edge
While one might not think so , the way Philly passed the ball in the final half, both Jared Verse (52, 78%) and Byron Young (52, 78%) had solid games. They combined for 12 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, and two QB hits. Josaiah Stewart had a quiet 24 reps (36%). Desjuan Johnson was active and was in on 11 snaps (16%). Neither had a tackle.
Off-ball linebacker
Nate Landman (63, 94%) and Omar Speights (52, 78%) had relatively quiet afternoons. Each had three tackles and Landman jumped on a fumble.
Safety
Good and bad. Kamren Curl (66, 99%) led with nine tackles, while Kamren Kinchens (58, 87%) chipped in six and broke up a pass.. As usual, Quentin Lake (67, 100%) played every snap, logging six tackles and breaking up four passes.
Cornerback
After a strong first half, the Rams had problems matching up in the second. It appeared that whenever the Rams went to man defense, Philly wideout AJ Brown was able to outmuscle L.A.’s smaller corners. Cobie Durant (52, 78%), Emmanuel Forbes (55, 82%), and Darious Williams (25, 37%) were all victimized as Philadelphia passed at will.
Special teams don’t really matter
Who hasn’t heard that one? The problem is, they do and always have. The NFL loves its parity, so much now that explosive plays are mentioned on near equal terms to turn overs as harbingers of success. And why not? Blocked kicks and/or long return’s get you a piece of both worlds.
Normally, I’m not the type to consider a game lost on a single play, but maybe two…
At 8:46 of 4th quarter: Guard Kevin Dotson has been out of the game for eight plays and is obviously favoring a bad leg. He’s trotted on for the field goal and promptly gets blown backwards.
At :03 of the 4th quarter: A chance for redemption, this time around, it’s Rob Havenstein in for Dotson. Again, by the same two Eagles players, the blocking is completely folded back on itself and victory is swatted away. The blocked kick may not have mattered. Watching an ALL22 angle replay, check the angle of the kick, it looks to me like it’s going dead left. A miss.
That’s all the complaining I’m going to do. It’s tough to win on the road, particularly a team as solid as the Eagles. There were as many as 6 to 10 plays that had the Rams converted any one them, it would have changed the outcome to a positive. They simply weren’t made.
Category: General Sports
