The 1-4 Arizona Cardinals stunned the Los Angeles Rams this week with a 18-16 victory. Both teams are now at 2-4 and in last place in the NFC West division.
A better-than-expected Raiders team is on deck. Vegas currently has a 3-3 record. This is a game the Rams should win, although we also said that about Arizona.
Before we turn the corner to the Raiders, let’s take a look at the individual performances from Week 6. These are the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades on each side of the ball.
Top five grades on offense
1 – David Quessenberry, LT: 83.0
Quessenberry
replaced Alaric Jackson at left tackle, who was suspended because of a post-game altercation with the Buffalo Bills. The veteran fill-in allowed two pressures in pass protection and earned a grade in this facet of 84.8. He also fared well in run blocking with a mark of 78.7.
2 – Blake Corum, RB: 77.9
Kyren Williams led the Rams with 10 carries at 5.0 yards per pop. Corum added nine of his own at a 4.7 clip. TE Davis Allen also earned a rush on a failed fourth down attempt.
Corum did not have a single rush that netted negative yards. He was met with contact on an average depth of 1.48 yards versus Williams at 2.5 yards. Corum created 3.22 yards after contact on average while Williams was at 2.5. Corum forced three missed tackles. He was the better runner on Sunday.
3 – Puka Nacua, WR: 74.7
Nacua did his best work against slot corner Kalen King. He caught all three of his targets for 57 yards, although only one of those went for a first down. In total Nacua finished with six catches on seven targets for 80 yards. 53 yards came after the catch point.
In the game’s final moments, Nacua did everything he could to put the Rams in a position to win. They couldn’t get the job done.
4 – Konata Mumpfield, WR: 68.6
Second-year receiver Konata Mumpfield caught both of his targets for 15 yards. He took over the third receiver role from Tutu Atwell this week.
5 – Davante Adams, WR: 68.2
Adams suffered a leg injury in the game’s final moments and his status moving forward is uncertain. When healthy he caught three of four targets for 39 yards with a long of 16. Only nine yards came after the catch point.
Other notes on offense
Matthew Stafford was the third-worst graded player on offense in front of Davis Allen and Tyler Higbee. He finished with a mark of 50.6 with one big-time throw and three turnover-worthy plays. Stafford had an average depth of target (ADOT) of just 5.3 yards.
With three receivers, a backup tackle, and a running back comprising the top five grades, Stafford is running out of excuses for his individual poor play.
After applying a 50% snap threshold, Stafford is currently PFF’s 17th-ranked signal caller by passing grade and 18th in overall offensive grade. In front of him are Aaron Rodgers, Cam Ward, and Geno Smith. There has been talk of benching Ward. It’s time to acknowledge that the Rams should consider sitting Stafford down as well.
Top five grades on defense
1 – Josh Wallace, CB: 84.7
Jacoby Brissett targeted Josh Wallace in coverage eight times and was punished for doing so. Wallace allowed four receptions for just 20 yards and 100% of the yardage came after the catch point. The Cardinals often leveraged screen plays. The backup corner was also active in run defense with four stops.
2 – Quentin Lake, DB: 81.1
Lake also had an active role in coverage. He was targeted six times, allowing five receptions for 44 yards (28 after the catch) with an interception. Lake tied Nate Landman for the team lead in tackles with seven solo. It was a nice bounce back performance after he struggled last week.
3 – Wesley Bailey, EDGE: 80.1
Bailey had virtually no pass rush production on seven rushes. He did his best work as a run defender on nine such plays. His PFF run defense grade was 81.9 and the highest on the defense against Arizona.
4 – Aaron Donald, DT: 78.9
Inversely, Donald finished with LA’s best pass rushing grade at 73.9. He pressured Brissett twice. Byron Young led the defense in pressures with three. Brissett was not sacked.
5 – Omar Speights, MLB: 70.6
Speights earned low marks in tackling (one miss) at 39.2 and coverage with 49.1 (allowed two catches for 22 yards). He made three run stops and earned a mark of 76.6. This was the second-highest run defense grade behind Bailey.
Other notes on defense
Second-year defensive tackle Ty Hamilton played 18 snaps and earned a lowly grade of 35.0. His season grade is at 32.9. The Rams should reconsider whether it’s wise to carve out a role for him.
