The Los Angeles Rams won back-to-back games for the first time this season as they defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 24-9. It may not have been as convincing as some had hoped, but the Rams are back to .500. Let's get into this week's 10 takeaways.
If Sunday's game against the Chargers didn't make it obvious, the Rams need a third wide receiver. While 13 personnel is a big part of the offense, they still use 11 personnel at a 54.6 percent rate. It's true that Terrance Ferguson and Davante Adams will come back, but can the Rams trust either to stay healthy?
The Rams used 11 personnel at a 75 percent rate in the first half and it was clear that Matthew Stafford was unsettled and uncomfortable throwing to players not named Puka Nacua. Stafford's interception came when targeting Konata Mumpfield, and he wasn't always on the same page as Jordan Whittington.
"I have a ton of reps with Puka. I think our tight ends are doing a great job. Tutu did a really nice job today, had a couple opportunities," said Stafford after the game. "It's something that will continuously build, but excited to move forward."
There will come a point when the Rams have to rely on 11 personnel again and when that happens, it gets very difficult to rely on role players. It's not sustainable.
In the first half, the Rams had five rushing attempts for just 10 yards. The Rams were averaging -0.02 EPA per rush with a 40 percent success rate. For much of the first half, the Rams couldn't get into a rhythm running the football and that showed as they didn't get a first down on their first five drives.
To start the second half, Corum ran the ball four consecutive times for 32 yards and then capped off the drive with a 23-yard touchdown run. Corum finished with 11 carries for 73 yards and found the end zone for a second straight week. When the offense and run game needed a spark of energy , it was Corum who provided it.
There's no doubt that the Rams' passing game goes through Puka Nacua.When the passing game finally found success, it came as the Rams got Nacua more involved. He was on the other end of 11 of Stafford's 17 completions and was responsible for 80 of his 157 yards.
With the performance, Nacua has 12 games with at least 10 receptions in his career, surpassing Ja'Marr Chase for the second-most games with at least 10 receptions by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. His 56 receptions in his first six games are tied with Cooper Kupp for the second-most receptions by a player in their first six games of a season in NFL history. If Nacua hadn't missed two games, he'd be in the Offensive Player of the Year conversation.
The only undrafted free agent to make the Rams' roster this season was edge rusher Wesley Bailey. Bailey had a fantastic preseason and left the Rams with no choice but to keep him. Through the first eight games of the season, he's played a role in the pass rush rotation.
While Bailey hasn't surpassed Josaiah Stewart on the depth chart, he's still making his presence felt. He had a good hustle play to create a sack-fumble opportunity and has gotten better in the run game. For as little of an impact as the Rams' rookie class has had as a whole, Bailey continues to be a bright spot.
When the Rams were able to execute the dirty kickoff, it worked as intended. However, there were two instances in which the ball didn't make it to the landing zone, and the Rams were given a penalty and the Chargers started at the 40-yard line. However, when it did work, the Chargers started at the 23, 28, and 19. It's something worth continuing if the Rams can find consistency.
"You go back and forth because if you're going to kick touchbacks, that ends up being a five-yard penalty if you put it on the 40 when we ended up landing it short of the landing zone twice. We have to be better in that area," said McVay. "When we were able to cover it because he hit a good ball that's hard to field, just based on the semantics of how the play is officiated, you're telling me they're not going to be able to field it clean and we're getting a start before they're getting their return set up and the momentum to be able to field it, that was the thinking behind it."
We'll see if the Rams continue the approach next week. It was certainly unconventional to roster two kickers on game day and for one just to handle kickoffs. Still, if the Rams can get it to work, it's an approach that might pay off and end up helping their kickoff coverage unit.
In the first half against the Chargers, the Rams operated out of 11 personnel at a 75 percent rate. Without Colby Parkinson, the Rams were forced out of their usual 13 personnel and the offense struggled because of it. While they were able to get away with that in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles, not having Davante Adams on Sunday made that very difficult.
For the first time in the McVay era, the Rams went three-and-out and were without a first down on each of their first five drives. In the second half, the Rams got back to what they do best and used 13 personnel at a 63.6 percent rate. That helped the run game as Corum and Williams combined for 22 carries for 119 yards in the second half.
"It was just better execution," said McVay. "There was a little bit different approach, but all we were interested in doing was coming away with the win. I thought we were able to do that and we'll learn from it."
As the offense struggled, the defense kept the Rams in the game. Quentin Lake had an early interception to put the Rams on the board. Later, Trent McDuffie had an interception as well that the offense used to put the game away. Based on EPA, the Chargers had their worst game offensively all year against the Rams' defense.
The Rams kept the Chargers out of the end zone and didn't allow a touchdown for the second time in three weeks. They created opportunities with turnovers and sacked Herbert twice. It was an overall good performance from the defense and they should only get better when Myles Garrett returns.
Without Trent McDuffie in the lineup the previous two weeks, the Rams have done enough to get by. Both Josh Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes have stepped in well. With that said, Sunday was a reminder why he's such an important piece of the defense.
McDuffie intercepted Herbert, but his ability to tackle in space is also important. He was targeted just once in the game and had the turnover. McDuffie is critical to what the Rams do on defense and when he's been on the field, he's played like one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
With the Rams trailing 9-3 with less than two minutes to go in the half and not having a single first down, it appeared like Sunday was going to be a struggle. Then, Stafford hit Atwell for a big play, and the Rams scored to take the lead and didn't look back. After experiencing something similar two weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals, it would have been easy for the Rams to accept how it was going to be. Instead, they responded and took control of the game.
That's not to say they don't need to be better. Stafford had a QBR of 35.7, which is the third time this season that he's had a QBR under 50. Offensively, the Rams need to find some consistency. Still, when things got tough, the Rams powered through it and did enough to get the win.
Again, the win wasn't perfect. The Rams followed up a great offensive performance last week with one in which they went nearly an entire half without a first down. However, this was the first time this season in which the Rams earned back-to-back wins and that's a step in the right direction. The Rams can finally start to pick up some momentum and build on what they're doing. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but winning a second straight game was important.
The Rams need to be able to keep this going. With the Commanders and Cardinals on deck, the Rams will have an opportunity to head into the bye week at 6-4. As they get healthy, the Rams should start to find their stride in December and January when games get even more important.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as 10 Takeaways From Rams' Win Over Chargers: Blake Corum Shines, WR3 Concerns Grow .
