When the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, it was rock bottom . The offense scored 16 points against a struggling Cardinals defense, and the Rams fell at home to the bottom-dweller of the NFC West
On Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Rams leaned on Blake Corum to spark the offense along with Kyren Williams and a steady run game. Corum and Williams combined for 192 yards rushing as the offense found its identity . They became the first running back duo since Marshall Faulk and Trung Candidate to each rush for over 90 yards in the same regular season game.
Throughout the McVay era, there have been times when the offense has gone through ruts. In 2018, the Rams lost two out of three games and didn't look like themselves during that stretch. During the 2021 season, the Rams went through "No win November" and Stafford was plagued with turnovers. The offense turned the ball over seven times across three games.
In every case, the Rams simply got back to what they did best. The foundation of the McVay offense is built around the run game.
"Any good offense that we've had here that I've been a part of, you have to be able to do both," said head coach Sean McVay after the game. "You have to be able to have balance, or you at least have to have the threat of if they overcommit to something, then you have to be able to make them pay."
During Weeks 16 and 17 in 2018, C.J. Anderson had 43 carries for 299 yards. In the playoffs, the Rams beat the Cowboys on the back of Anderson and Todd Gurley rushing 39 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
When the Rams went through 'No Win November,' they leaned on Sony Michel after struggling to find consistency in the run game all year. Michel had 20 carries in Week 3 of the 2021 season. He didn't have another game with 20 or more carries until Week 13.
Between Week 13 and 18, Michel had a league-high 129 carries and rushed for 540 yards, which ranked third. During that span, the Rams had just a +3.2 pass rate over expected compared to +5.5 during the losing streak.
With Williams on injured reserve in 2023, the Rams went 1-3 and fell to 4-6. Once Williams came back, he had 20 carries in five of the next six games, including 25 or more in Weeks 14 and 15 as the Rams went 5-1.
From Weeks 12-17, Williams ranked second in EPA per rush and led the NFL in rushing success rate. Williams had the most rushing attempts and yards during that span as well. The Rams had a +1.3 pass rate over expected over those six games.
That's what the Rams needed to get back to last week. They needed to simplify things on offense. During the first six weeks of the season, Stafford led the NFL in passing attempts. The Rams ranked fifth in pass-rate over expected at +4.9 and it was at +7.7 between Weeks 3-6. In Week 7, the Rams had a +0.8 pass rate over expected. They were much more balanced .
"When you're able to do that, you're not in a bunch of bad spots on second down and on third down and a lot of things can come off of that," McVay said. "I thought that was the first game that was reflected. We were able to really do some of the things that I've been in alignment with when we've been able to operate at a pretty decent clip offensively."
While the Rams have a steady rushing attack with Kyren Williams, it lacks a creative dimension when he's the only player involved. After Corum and Williams split carries in Week 2 against the New York Giants, the running game lacked that 1-2 punch.
From Weeks 2-6, Williams had 57 carries to Corum's 25. Week 2 was also the last time that Corum had more than 10 carries in a game. On Sunday against the Raiders , Corum led the Rams with 17 carries to Williams' 16. Again, they combined for 192 yards. Corum finished with 93 yards but had potential for more, as he had two touchdowns, including one from 43 yards, called back because of penalties.
"I thought he saw the holes well. I thought he pressed the line of scrimmage. It's a bummer the one long one came back. You see the explosiveness, though," McVay said after the game. "It's something that we have to build on because this is a long journey. I thought this was a good step in the right direction, and you could feel that throughout the course of the week by the way the guys approached it."
Over the last two seasons, when Williams and Corum each have 10 or more carries, the Rams average 0.03 EPA per rush with a 50.6 percent rushing success rate. When Williams has 10 or more carries and Corum does not, they average -0.07 EPA per rush with a 46.1 percent rushing success rate.
The best version of the Rams' rushing attack is one that includes a heavy dose of Corum alongside Williams. Both players complement each other well, as Williams helps keep the offense on track while Corum has more burst and big-play ability.
Getting Corum more involved and McVay committing to the run game are what will get the Rams back on track and back to the team that many expected coming into the season. In past years, the Rams have leaned on Stafford. However, they don't need Stafford throwing 40 times per game when they have Corum and Williams.
The Rams have two running backs capable of making an impact, but that advantage means very little if only one is consistently involved. If the Rams are going to build on their win against the Raiders and turn their season around, Corum needs to remain a focal point of the offense.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as Blake Corum Is the Key to the Rams Turning Their Season Around and Making a Playoff Run .
