In their fifth game of the season decided by one touchdown or less, the Los Angeles Rams held off the Washington Commanders 20-13 on a sunny Sunday just outside the nation’s capitol. L.A. improved to 2-3 in those nail-biters, won its third consecutive game, and notched up to 5-4 for the season, tied for second place in the NFC West.
While the Rams offense has been inconsistent at times, the offensive line has played well, particularly right tackle Warren McClendon. In his fourth NFL season and first
as full-time starter, the 6’4” 315 right tackle played in every snap against the Commanders (75) and has not missed a rep in 2026, 634. ESPN rates McClendon as the #2 rated tackle with an 83 percent run block win rate and compliments it with a #11 ranking and 90 percent pass block win rate.
As a unit, the Rams offensive line is rated #1 in run block win rate and #10 in pass block win rate for the season. Their 9.5 percent run stuff rate allowed is the lowest in the league and at 49.6 percent, the rushing success rate is #2. As successful as the Rams have been blocking for the run, the offense is only middle of the pack (16th) in rushing attempts per game (26.9).
Should the Rams be running the ball more?
Here’s a review of the snap counts from Sunday. Players, their snap counts and percentage of play time in bold.
Quarterback
Mathew Stafford (75, 100%)
Staff just doesn’t look comfortable yet this season. His accuracy seems way off early in games and particularly when leading receivers. Indeed, the secondary receivers aren’t doing a lot to help, but there were just as many bad/off throws as dropped passes. To help him find rhythm, the Rams went no-huddle on 17 percent of plays, second highest of the season (Week 4 win over Philly, 22%), and normally under 10 percent.
Running back
Kyren Williams (48, 63%)
Blake Corum (27, 36%)
The Rams two-headed monster was again a force to reckon with, 26 carries for 103 yards. Could the Rams do a better job of using the run earlier in games? Yes, but at it’s core, the L.A. offense is pass-based, so when they run the ball 29 times, that’s a very good compliment. I like the jet sweeps, but also remember a time when the McVay offense could, and would use any number of players running them. Now it appears to be Puka Nacua or bust.
Wide receiver
Puka Nacua (70, 93%)
Tutu Atwell (35, 47%)
Konata Mumpfield (33, 44%)
Jordan Whittington (4, 5%)
CJ Daniels (1, 1%)
Way too often, the Rams passing offense was “force it in to Nacua” and hope he can make play. Only seven total targets for the rest of the unit, although the drops don’t inspire confidence. After McVay talking about Daniels getting more opportunities, nada, zilch, nil. Nacua is a stud horse and the Rams should ride him, but every screen and jet sweep? That’s not fooling anybody anymore. Speaking of jet sweeps, giving Nacua the ball to milk clock towards the end of the game was senseless. Why? There was zero upside to that play call.
Tight end
Colby Parkinson (55. 73%)
Tyler Higbee (60, 80%)
Davis Allen (42, 56%)
L.A.’s offensive game plan really leaned into multiple tight ends, a 58 percent clip. Five catches on nine targets were split between Parkinson (4 of 4) and Higbee (2 of 5) for 26 yards. Allen was again a run blocking workhorse. Klare didn’t get an offensive snap after playing nearly half of last week’s game.
Offensive line
Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Warren McClendon (75, 100%)
Beaux Limmer (57, 76%)
Steve Avila (18, 24%)
Overall, a solid effort. I’m not sure exactly what the Rams can do about the delayed blitzes without a film deep dive. Limmer stepped in for Avila and played well.
Special teams
Two weeks in a row with no major gaffes. Nothing special either. Who knew that mediocrity would feel so good? Maybe it’s just me, but I thought there was a bit of a spark on Sunday.
Defensive line
Aaron Donald (47, 76%)
Braden Fiske (48, 77%)
Tyler Davis (22, 35%)
Larrell Murchison (10, 16%)
Ty Hamilton (12, 19%)
While the Commanders are not a rushing juggernaut, limiting a team to 60 yards on 19 carries is good work. Donald and Fiske make an interesting pairing with their ability to shoot gaps. ESPN has Fiske at #11 in pass rush win rate for defensive tackles. Davis’ snaps are down for the season and way down from last year, it’s not that surprising with the Rams move away from traditional 5-2 fronts and into multiple looks and personnel at the line of scrimmage. Murchison was subbing in on the Commanders opening drive instead of Hamilton, but both of their snaps were down from last week.
Edge
Byron Young (51, 82%)
Myles Garrett (37, 63%)
Josiah Stewart (30, 48%)
Wesley Bailey (17, 27%)
The return of Garrett reverberated throughout the whole defensive front usage. For such a big human, his get-off and ability to dip and square off turning the corner on outside rushes is must-see football. Love that the Rams are going to line him up all over the defensive front. Young gets to go back to what he does best, be a rock solid E#2 that brings hustle and an all -around game. Stewart’s snaps are already trending down from early in the season and will likely settle into last years numbers, 33 to 40 percent. Bailey had a tough day setting the edge and took a terrible angle allowing a short pass to go for a long gain down the sideline.
Off-ball linebacker
Nate Landman (39, 63%)
Omar Speights (21, 34%)
Shaun Dolac (10, 16%)
Landman played to form and Speights looked have had a third straight good game. Both their snaps were down for the second week in a row. Landman is down nearly 30 percent from his season highs, while Speights down by about half. Out of the blue, Dolac appeared for a handful of snaps. He got juked once, but had three tackles, a QB hit, and shared a sack in just a handful of reps.
Safety
Quentin Lake (62, 100%)
Kamren Curl (62, 100%)
Kamren Kinchens (44, 71%)
Jaylen McCollough (42, 68%)
As has become opponents modus operandi, Washington attacked with a short passing game. While there were some suspect tackling, generally they came up and kept the yards after catch to a minimum. Four explosive plays made up nearly 50 percent of the Commanders passing yards and only one of those could attributed to the safeties expense account. Lake got matched up on a wide receiver in the slot, not his best suit, and couldn’t stay attached causing Rams fans anxiety at the end of the game.
Cornerback
Josh Wallace (62, 100%)
Emmanuel Forbes (62, 100%)
Cam Lampkin (4, 6%)
Wallace got beat for a big gain on a long-developing crossing pattern, with his limited speed those routes are going to be his weak spot. Forbes played quite well, the most surprising aspect of his game was the aggressiveness when put into a tackling situation. The touchdown he gave up early was clear as day, there are very few corners that can play eight yards off the ball and cover a four yard slant.
Going forward
The Rams finish out the soft area of the schedule next week against the Arizona Cardinals and then a much needed bye week to heal up a bit before entering the stretch drive. The Redbirds may be 3-6 for the season, but will be looking for a season sweep over L.A. In the first meeting, they utilized a balanced offensive attack en route to a 35-25 minute time of possession advantage and 18-16 win.
The remaining schedule will be an uphill slog. There will be no more tomato cans, all seven remaining opponents are still in the playoff hunt. Coming right out of the bye break, the Thanksgiving Eve tilt with the Green Bay Packers sets up as a must win. The 6-3 Pack currently holds the #7 seed, while at 5-4 L.A. sits at #9, outside, looking in. Knocking off Green Bay in SoFi would be a strong first step.
