The Los Angeles Rams never seem to make things easy. In one sense, this team would have it no other way. This is a team that is used to playing in high-pressure moments and always finding ways to make it more
difficult. Their biggest testament to that was finding a way to come back from 17-13, with the Indianapolis Colts taking over in the red zone. The Rams are a team that finds a way when other teams would not. That’s exactly what happened when this Rams team found a way to win 27-20. Here are this week’s 10 takeaways.
1. Questions remain about Terrance Ferguson
For a second consecutive game, Terrance Ferguson was a healthy scratch and did not dress for a game. If Ferguson is going to be limited on offense, that’s fine. However, he has seemingly been fine on special teams. This is a player that the Rams drafted in the second round and would have considered at 26th overall. Again, in four games, Ferguson has been a healthy scratch and not dressed in two of them. That has to be a little bit concerning.
It’s fair to have questions and be frustrated about Ferguson’s lack of usage. At the same time, it’s fair to trust the Rams and their development process. Neither are wrong in this case. With other needs on the roster that were present back in April, questions are going to get asked.
2. Matthew Stafford bounces back with excellent performance
The Rams quarterback missed some routine throws against the Philadelphia Eagles and an argument can be made that they cost the team that game. To say he bounced back against the Colts would be an understatement. Stafford finished with 375 passing yards which is the most he’s had in a single game since joining the Rams. His three touchdown passes move him past Kurt Warner for the sixth-most in franchise history with 103. It wouldn’t be a Stafford game without a fourth quarter comeback and game-winning drive. Stafford completed his 39th and 50th of his career.
It may not have felt like a big game from Stafford given the third quarter, but when the Rams needed a drive out of their offense, they got one. Stafford went 7-for-10 for 96 yards and a touchdown on the final drive of the first half. With the Rams trailing 20-13, he then went 8-for-9 for 84 yards and a touchdown. On ‘gotta have it’ drives, Stafford was 16-for-20 for 268 yards and three touchdowns.
3. The problems are still the problems
This is a team that still has problems and they were evident on Sunday against the Colts once again. The Rams were lucky to not go down 17-13 much earlier in the game as Adonai Mitchell fumbled after beating Emmanuel Forbes. Pressure from the interior consistently got to Stafford throughout the game, but his pocket movement helped avoid some of the pressure.
There’s not much that the Rams can do about the pressure issue other than hope that Steve Avila returning and the offensive line gaining chemistry helps. However, at cornerback, the Rams are going to be without Ahkello Witherspoon for three months. Can Forbes be trusted to hold up for that long as the team’s top cornerback?
4. Defense contained Jonathan Taylor
The Rams defense deserves a lot of praise for how they have shut down two of the top running backs in the NFL in back-to-back weeks. Taylor had rushed for six yards per carry in each of the last two games. He was held to 76 on 17 carries against the Rams in what was a one score game throughout. He was also mostly eliminated in the passing game as a receiver. This comes just one week after shutting down Saquon Barkley.
Taylor may have been more consistent than Barkley, but the Rams were able to keep everything in front of them. His longest run was 12 yards which was his lowest in a game this season. Players like Poona Ford and Nate Landman have significantly helped the Rams run defense.
5. Rams safeties have been stars of the secondary
For as much as the cornerbacks have struggled for the Rams, their safeties have stood out and made some game-changing plays. Kam Curl had high expectations in his first year in Los Angeles. He didn’t have a single interception last year, but he had two on Sunday against the Colts. He had one on the opening drive and another on the final drive of the game. Quentin Lake is having a Pro Bowl caliber start to his season. Jalen McCollough has played well in his role and Kam Kinchens should’ve had an interception in this game.
The safeties have been the stars of the Rams secondary. They have consistently made plays when the defense has needed one. Curl is starting to come into his own while Lake has raised his level this season. Kinchens continues to develop. It’s this group that allows defensive coordinator Chris Shula to get creative on the backend of the defense.
6. Puka Nacua is the engine of the Rams offense
Whenever the Rams offense needs a play, it seems as if Puka Nacua is there to make it. On 2nd-and-10 and 2nd-and-16 on the final drive of the opening half, Stafford found Nacua for a first down. Later in the game on the game-tying drive, it was Nacua that picked up 11 yards on a screen before scoring the touchdown on fourth down.
Nacua scored his first career touchdown against the Colts in 2023 and then went for a career-high 170-yards against the same team on Sunday. Nacua joined Eric Moulds and T.J. Houshmandzadeh as the only players in NFL history with at least eight catches in each of his team’s first four games of a season. He has 42 catches this season, tied with Cooper Kupp and Michael Thomas for the most catches by a player in his team’s first four games in NFL history. Nacua is the second player ever with at least 10 catches and 100 yards in three out of the first four games of a season, also joining Kupp.
7. Kyren Williams’ fumble shouldn’t define his day, but it’s an issue
Tell me where you’ve seen this before: Kyren Williams fumbles in a big moment in the fourth quarter. With the Rams trailing 17-13, Williams fumbled on a bang-bang play which very easily could have been the ball game. It’s Williams’ ninth fumble over the past 2+ years. It’s a play that simply cannot happen. Coming into Sunday, he remained the fourth least explosive running back in the NFL. He has to be able to protect the football. When Williams has the fumbling issue that he does, he does not get the benefit of the doubt. This isn’t something that can be ignored just because the Rams won. The Rams paid Kyren Williams this past offseason and he has yet to show he doesn’t have the same issues that he’s had throughout his career.
At the same time, it shouldn’t define Williams’ day. He was very good in pass protection throughout the afternoon and consistently picked up good yardage, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He bounced back strong after the fumble, clinching the game on the final drive and picking up a first down.
8. Tutu Atwell shows up in big way
In the same way that fans have been calling for Terrance Ferguson, the same could be said for Tutu Atwell. It may have been him to score the game-tying touchdown had it not been for a pass interference penalty. However, Atwell’s moment would come. With the game tied, Atwell beat the slot defender on a double move and Matthew Stafford found him wide open. Atwell did the rest, taking it 88 yards for the score. Plays like that are almost worth the $10 million that the Rams have paid Atwell this season. He may not be a featured piece of the offense, but it’s moments like those that show what he is capable of when he gets the ball.
The Rams’ 88-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Tutu Atwell with 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter marked the longest game-winning scrimmage touchdown in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter since 1960.
9. Have to be proud of how Rams answered adversity
On Saturday, I went to the Syracuse football game against Duke. There was a point in the second quarter in which Syracuse trailed 10-3 and after a long discussion it was ruled that a Syracuse wide receiver fumbled and Duke recovered. The Blue Devils scored a few plays later to go up 17-3. To make a long story short, it would have been very easy for the Rams to quit after the Williams fumble. The offense punted four times in the third quarter which was as many times as the previous two games combined.
Instead, the defense got a stop and kept the game within one score. When the offense got the ball back, they went down and answered to tie the game. Needing a stop, Jared Verse recorded a sack-fumble and the offense got another opportunity. The Rams completed the comeback when Stafford hit Atwell for the game-winning touchdown. Again, it would have been easy for the Rams to lose this game. Instead, when it was ‘gut check’ time and they stared adversity in the face, they answered the bell and came away with a win.
10. The real season is just starting
With the Rams holding their starters out of the preseason, it can take 3-4 weeks for the starters to get the rust off and find their groove. We have officially finished the quarter mark of the season with the Rams beating their first team with a winning record. Through four weeks, the Rams are 3-1 with all three wins coming against the AFC South.
On Thursday, the Rams will play their first NFC West division game when they host the San Francisco 49ers. If the end of the season comes to tiebreaks, it’s going to be conference games and division games that matter. Two of the next three games are against AFC opponents, but the first division game marks the start of games that truly matter. The real season starts now.
