On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams looked nothing like the team that was blown out in Week 1, which is great news. They played with much more energy and toughness, perhaps because they got a legend back on the defensive line with Aaron Donald returning.
The Rams made their 28-6 win over the Giants look easy, dominating on each side of the ball throughout the night. New York only had 182 total yards on offense, which is 13 fewer than Davante Adams had himself. Jameis Winston completed just 11 of his 27 passes after replacing the injured Jaxson Dart, largely because the Rams were in the pockets of New York's receivers all night.
Pro Football Focus handed out grades for every Rams player who took the field, and we sorted them by the best and worst
performers (min. 10 snaps).
Top 5 offense
- WR Davante Adams: 94.6
- QB Matthew Stafford: 83.3
- LT Alaric Jackson: 80.6
- TE Colby Parkinson: 78.4
- TE Davis Allen: 77.2
Adams went off for eight catches, 195 yards and two touchdowns, torching the Giants secondary all night despite being the team's clear-cut No. 1 receiver with Puka Nacua out. Stafford kept going back to him, and for good reason, though one of his deep shots did result in an interception.
Jackson was the team's top lineman, allowing just one pressure, which was a sack by Abdul Carter.
Parkinson and Allen weren't heavily involved as receivers but they both graded out well as run blockers (76.3 and 67.1, respectively).
Top 5 defense
- CB Trent McDuffie: 91.0
- DB Quentin Lake: 85.5
- NT Poona Ford: 84.0
- DT Tyler Davis: 81.7
- OLB Byron Young: 77.6
McDuffie is off to a hot start with the Rams, allowing just one catch on six targets for 5 yards in the win. He also had four total passes defensed, including an interception in the end zone.
Lake broke up three passes and forced a fumble, allowing only three catches for 10 yards on six targets, too.
Ford didn't play a ton of snaps against the pass-heavy Giants but he had an 82.3 run defense grade, which was second on the team.
Davis was also stout against the run (76.9) and had one pressure on 14 pass-rush snaps.
Young led the team with five pressures and had a sack where he chased down Winston.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Terrance Ferguson: 66.1
- WR Tutu Atwell: 66.1
- WR Konata Mumpfield: 59.6
- TE Tyler Higbee: 56.4
- WR Xavier Smith: 46.1
Ferguson saw eight passes thrown his way and he caught six of them for 54 yards and a late touchdown. He did drop one pass on third down, though.
Atwell caught one pass for 19 yards on a terrific route to the outside. Mumpfield only had one catch for 12 yards in place of Nacua.
Higbee saw zero targets and didn't play many snaps, mostly contributing as a blocker. Smith also failed to come up with a catch on just one target.
Bottom 5 defense
- LB Nate Landman: 59.8
- OLB Josaiah Stewart: 47.2
- CB Jaylen Watson: 46.1
- OLB Wesley Bailey: 40.8
- DT Braden Fiske: 39.8
Landman led the team with seven tackles and had just one miss, but he made five stops and only allowed 14 yards in coverage.
Stewart had three pressures and though he didn't have a sack, he bizzarely stopped tackling Winston on one play and let him out of his grasp.
Watson allowed a team-high 52 yards on four targets (three catches) but he did have four tackles and one pressure.
Bailey notched his first NFL sack, which was his only pressure of the game, while Fiske finished with two pressures, including a hit on Winston in the end zone for a near-safety.
Other notables
- DT Kobie Turner: 71.6
- RB Blake Corum: 71.1
- RB Kyren Williams: 70.4
- DT Aaron Donald: 60.3
Turner recorded four tackles and two pressures with three stops, tied for the second-most on the team.
Corum and Williams each played exceptionally well with 12 carries each and 79 and 85 yards rushing, respectively. They each fumbled it once, though, with Williams losing his.
And finally, Donald. He was credited with one pressure and three tackles, one of them being a stop for a loss on third down in the red zone.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers in win vs. Giants
