Coming off a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, the Los Angeles Rams badly needed a win in Week 6. They got one, cruising to a 26-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals thanks to a 20-0 shutout in the second half.
Pro Football Focus graded the Rams very highly in this win, giving high marks to the likes of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Byron Young and several others, putting all of them among the highest-graded players in the NFL this week.
Below are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball, with a number of players receiving great scores from the analytics site.
Top 5 offense
- QB Matthew Stafford: 90.0
- WR Cooper Kupp: 87.0
- RG Kevin Dotson: 86.1
- RB Kyren Williams: 84.8
- RT Rob Havenstein: 82.7
Stafford is currently the highest-graded quarterback of Week 6, making four big-time throws with no turnover-worthy plays in the win. He only attempted 24 passes and completed 15 of them, but he totaled 226 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Kupp also had a fantastic game with seven catches for 148 yards, scoring his first touchdown of the season.
Dotson is the second-highest-graded offensive lineman in the NFL for Week 6 so far, which was helped by his 83.7 grade in run blocking. He’s played well since taking over at right guard.
Williams had the best day of his career, rushing for 158 yards and a touchdown, while also forcing a whopping seven missed tackles.
Havenstein paired with Dotson on the right side to dominate in the run game, earning a team-best 84.1 run-blocking grade on Sunday.
Top 5 defense
- OLB Byron Young: 87.3
- DT Aaron Donald: 85.2
- LB Ernest Jones: 82.5
- CB Cobie Durant: 81.4
- S Jordan Fuller: 80.0
Young was outstanding against the Cardinals, recording five pressures, one sack and two quarterback hits. His pass-rush grade of 88.7 ranks third among all defenders in the NFL this week.
Donald finished with seven pressures, his third game with at least seven, and three tackles for a loss. He was as disruptive as usual on the interior, both against the run and pass.
Jones only missed one tackle but he had 10 total tackles in the game, including three stops. He also had one pressure as a pass rusher.
Durant had arguably his best game of the season, allowing only one catch, missing zero tackles and breaking up two passes.
Fuller had five tackles and only allowed two catches on six targets, doing a great job against the Cardinals’ tight ends.
Bottom 5 offense
- LT Alaric Jackson: 62.4
- C Coleman Shelton: 61.7
- WR Puka Nacua: 58.2
- LG Steve Avila: 55.9
- TE Tyler Higbee: 54.3
It’s hard to fault any of these players for being in the “bottom 5” considering only 11 offensive players played at least 10 snaps, which is our qualifier.
Jackson tied the team-high with three pressures allowed, though none of them were sacks or QB hits.
Shelton only allowed one pressure and had the highest pass-blocking grade on the team (77.4), but his run-blocking grade of 57.3 was on the lower side.
Nacua had a costly drop in the first half, failing to come down with what would’ve been a touchdown in the end zone. PFF didn’t count it because defensive holding was called, but it was a mistake by the rookie.
Avila gave up two pressures and had a run-blocking grade of 51.7, so it wasn’t his best day.
Higbee was praised for his run blocking in the win, and deservedly so, but PFF only gave him a 64.0 grade in that department.
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Ahkello Witherspoon: 61.0
- LB Christian Rozeboom: 58.3
- S Quentin Lake: 54.9
- NT Cory Durden: 44.6
- OLB Ochaun Mathis: 44.1
None of these guys played particularly bad, and Witherspoon was especially good in coverage. He allowed just two catches on six targets, almost coming down with his third pick of the season.
Rozeboom came up with a huge interception when the Cardinals were driving and trying to tie the game, which made a significant difference in the outcome. He did miss two tackles, though.
Lake played more than usual and had three tackles, only missing one attempt and allowing two catches on three targets.
Durden was called up from the practice squad and failed to record a tackle, missing his only attempt on the interior.
Mathis had two pressures on 17 pass-rush snaps, including a QB hit.
Other notables
- NT Kobie Turner: 77.6
- OLB Michael Hoecht: 74.7
- CB Derion Kendrick: 63.7
Turner played more snaps as a true nose tackle and more than held his own, registering one pressure and three total stops.
Hoecht had his best game of the year so far, recording five pressures, including two quarterback hits.
Kendrick bounced back from a tough performance against the Eagles, allowing one catch for 26 yards on Sunday afternoon against Arizona.
