–Joshua Waitsman
The Los Angeles Rams followed up their decisive 33-13 win over the raiders by
stampeding over the Arizona Cardinals 34-0. Between the Rams offense firing on all
cylinders, and a completely anemic Cardinals offense that didn't even manage to cross
midfield until their final drive, the Rams came out of this matchup looking virtually
untouchable. Here are the grades for each individual unit.
Quarterback
With 354 yards, one touchdown, and one interception it may not seem like Rams quarterback
Jared Goff had a terrific game, but he did. This was the most accurate game Goff has had in his
career so far. He consistently put the ball in places where only his receiver could catch it, and
except for an overthrown would be touchdown to a wide open robert woods there was nothing
that his receivers could not have caught
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
The offensive line took a step back this week after a stellar performance against the Raiders.
They allowed Goff to be sacked twice, and they struggled to open up running lanes for Todd
Gurley and Malcolm Brown. They did manage to play well on the goal line however opening up
easy touchdowns for Gurley.
Grade: B-
Receivers
Cooks, Woods, and Kupp. This trio should be together for at least a few more years and
watchout because they are already establishing themselves as one of the most talented
receiving corps in all of football. There was consistent separation from defensive backs the
entire game, as well as more than a few clutch catches throughout the game. The only thing
they couldn't do was find the endzone.
Grade: A-
Running Backs
Gurley may have struggled to get going, but he did find the endzone three times as well as two
2-point conversions. Gurley also may have been the best pass blocker in the team as he picked
up the blitz on more than one play to prevent Goff from getting sacked. He also added 31 yards
on three catches. Malcolm Brown also played well in relief of Gurley and actually managed to
run for 46 yards on just 12 carries, and he added a 2-point conversion as well.
Grade: B
Tight Ends
Once again the tight ends struggled to get much going this game as they only had two catches
on four targets for a total of 20 yards. It's still surprising that McVay has not found a way to
utilize this position yet. They did find the endzone once at least.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
Even though Bradford was inly sacked once in this game the defensive line was consistently a
threat and bradford struggled to stay in the pocket for long. Bradford was forced to throw the ball
away many times this game due to the pressure created by Donald, Brockers, and Suh.
Grade: B
Linebackers
The Cardinals rushing attack was basically a non-factor in this game. Littleton and Wilson met
the running backs at the line of scrimmage for most of the game and they held them to just 54
total yards.
Grade: B+
Secondary
Bradford was held to a pitiful 90 yards zero touchdowns and one interception. Talib had a nice
pair of deflections, and Sam Shields came up with nice interception. John Johnson III is starting
to look like a pro bowl safety as he had a few good pass breakups as well as some very nice
tackles against the run. Whenever you can hold a quarterback to fewer than 100 yard it’s a very
good day for your defense.
Grade: A+
Special Teams
Rams fans were worried that the loss of Pharoh Cooper would be detrimental to the return
game, but Jojo Natson proved them wrong by averaging over 22 yards per return on punts.
Hekker also punted well and came in as the kicker after Zurlein was taken out of the game.
Hekker was 1-1 on field goals and 1-1 on extra points.
Grade: A+
Coaches
A flawless plan by Phillips on defense and a masterful plan by McVay on offense spelled
disaster for the Cardinals. Very little went wrong for the Rams in this game and it is due to one
of the best coaching tandems in the NFL
Grade: A
Overall
Not much of an argument can be made against a 34-0 win. The Rams played well in every
stage of the game and walked away with an easy victory.
Grade: A