With their 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Rams are now 3-1. LA’s youngsters led the way in a home win with Puka Nacua and Jared Verse dominating their respective sides of the ball.
Who stood out in positive or negative way according to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) game grades? Let’s dive in.
Top five grades on offense
1 – Puka Nacua, WR: 92.6
Nacua set a career high (regular season only) in receiving yards for this game with 13 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown. He was the only consistently successful part of LA’s offense
on Sunday. On the season, Nacua has caught 86% (!) of the passes thrown in his direction and has hauled in eight of his nine contested catch opportunities. He’s moved the chains for 26 first downs. Absurd.
2 – Davis Allen, TE: 84.6
These are the Rams snap counts at TE in Week 4:
- Allen: 21 (12 run; 9 pass)
- Parksinson: 21 (12 run; 9 pass)
- Higbee: 41 (9 run; 32 pass)
The roles in this group are clear. Higbee is the primary pass catcher and Allen and Parkinson are put on the field to open running lanes. Both Allen and Parkinson were successful in their niches with respective run blocking grades of 77.7 and 68.4.
3 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 82.2
If Matthew Stafford could play 100% of the time like it was a game-winning drive, the Rams would have a consistently great quarterback. Stafford saved his best for last against the Colts and tossed two big-time throws in the final moments to keep LA in the win column.
The veteran completed 29 of 41 passes (ADJ comp of 76.9%) for 375 yards and three scores. This game marked his second-longest time to throw on the season at 2.61 seconds with a strange juxtaposition of his shortest average depth of target (ADOT) at 8.0 yards. He was pressured on 44% of his drop backs and took three sacks.
This wasn’t the cleanest effort from Stafford as he put the ball in harm’s way twice with two turnover-worthy plays, tying his season-high against the Titans.
4 – Colby Parkinson, TE: 79.5
5 – Justin Dedich, LG: 74.1
Dedich was the Rams’ best lineman on Sunday despite being the weak link of the group over the last two weeks. Steve Avila was cleared for the game and active, but the Rams may be taking their time to work him back into the lineup. Dedich rewarded the team for giving him the opportunity.
Other notes on offense
Rob Havenstein simply isn’t himself in 2025. Fans wanted LA to look for his heir apparent at right tackle in the draft, but the Rams instead opted to trade back—collecting an additional first round pick next year—and selecting TE Terrance Ferguson (a healthy scratch each of the last two weeks). On the season Havenstein has a PFF offensive grade of 55.0. He’s on track for his worst season since 2019 where he suffered an injury and played just over 600 snaps. It’s worth noting that Havenstein has battled an ankle injury in the early going.
Top five grades on defense
1 – Kamren Curl, DB: 93.9
Entering Week 4, Curl hadn’t intercepted a pass since 2020. He snagged two picks off Daniel Jones on Sunday.
This seems like an outlier game for Curl; however, he deserves credit for his performance. He drew a PFF coverage grade of 92.1 and allowed only two catches on six targets for 22 yards and a touchdown.
If Curl can sustain this level of play, it would be a big boost for the defense. I wouldn’t bet on it.
2 – Jared Verse, EDGE: 93.6
Verse tied with Byron Young for a team lead in pressures with five. The Rams generated 21 pressures on Jones in this game.
Verse forced a strip sack on Jones that was recovered by Indy, though he consistently lived in the Colts’ backfield. This was an impressive game and the second-year EDGE seems to be rounding into form after a relatively slow start to the year.
3 – Kobie Turner, DT: 80.6
Turner earned a pass rushing grade of 87.0 and recorded three pressures. He graded lower in run defense at 56.7 and missed a tackle on two attempts, which explains why his overall mark trended lower.
4 – Poona Ford, DT: 78.3
Poona Ford the pass rusher? He earned four pressures in this game and finished just shy of Verse and Young.
Ford is proving he was a stellar free agent acquisition this offseason for Los Angeles and has come up big in run defense against Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor the last two weeks. Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry are up next. Can he continue to make a difference and bottle up star running backs?
5 – Jaylen McCollough, DB: 77.6
Although McCollough is a part time player on this defense, he finds ways to be active when he is on the field. He’s averaging roughly 17 snaps per game and has found a way to earn two sacks on the season, although he didn’t have one in this game.
As the nearest defender in coverage, McCollough was allowed catches on all three of his targets for a measly 14 yards.
Other notes on defense
Emmanuel Forbes was LA’s lowest graded defender at 34.3. He earned a PFF coverage grade of 30.1 and allowing receptions on all three of his targets for 86 yards and a touchdown. This comes off a week where the Eagles and AJ Brown were able to find great success throwing in Forbes’ direction.
How much longer can the Rams start Forbes at corner?
