The Los Angeles Rams were beaten by the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, losing 26-10 at Arrowhead Stadium. It was their eighth loss of the season and all but ended any chance of them making the playoffs – unless they somehow win the remainder of their games.
The offense played poorly once again, this time with Bryce Perkins at quarterback. The defense amazingly held the Chiefs to 26 points and kept them out of the end zone on 5 of their 6 red zone trips, which was a small victory.
Here’s a look at how players graded out on each side of the ball, according to Pro Football Focus.
Top 5 offense
- RT Rob Havenstein: 86.3
- RG Oday Aboushi: 76.4
- WR Tutu Atwell: 72.4
- RB Cam Akers: 71.3
- WR Brandon Powell: 67.5
Two offensive linemen were surprisingly the highest-graded players on offense for the Rams, led by Havenstein and his two pressures allowed. Havenstein was given an elite grade (90.9) for run blocking, too.
Atwell played a career-high 28 snaps and caught multiple passes in a game for the first time, so that was a positive step for him in Year 2.
Akers was pretty effective and provided a spark on offense, gaining 37 yards on his eight carries, including a 15-yard run.
Top 5 defense
- CB Jalen Ramsey: 76.9
- S Taylor Rapp: 72.5
- DL Jonah Williams: 70.7
- DT Aaron Donald: 62.8
- CB Troy Hill: 62.7
Ramsey gave up a touchdown to Travis Kelce in the first quarter, which was a combination of a great route by Kelce and poor coverage by Ramsey. That was the only reception he allowed in coverage on three targets, breaking up one pass in the end zone, as well.
Rapp graded out surprisingly well, finishing with 12 tackles and only one missed attempt. He gave up five catches on seven targets in coverage, but those receptions only totaled 34 yards.
Williams helped replace A’Shawn Robinson at defensive end and played well as a run defender.
Donald had four pressures but he also missed two tackles, which lowered his grade quite a bit.
Hill gave up four catches for 36 yards on six targets, missing one tackle.
Bottom 5 offense
- QB Bryce Perkins: 54.1
- LT A.J. Arcuri: 48.4
- LG Matt Skura: 47.2
- WR Lance McCutcheon: 47.1
- TE Tyler Higbee: 44.7
Perkins’ numbers were poor and the Rams didn’t move the ball very well, but all things considered, he did what he was asked to do and moved the chains with his legs a few times.
Arcuri and Skura were the weak links on the offensive line, giving up a total of seven pressures – five of which were by Arcuri at left tackle.
McCutcheon failed come down with any of the three targets he saw in the game, so his grade was predictably low.
Higbee played less than usual and only ran 11 routes, getting targetted zero times. He was hard to find on the field.
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Derion Kendrick: 49.7
- DL Marquise Copeland: 47.2
- OLB Terrell Lewis: 44.5
- CB David Long Jr.: 42.0
- NT Greg Gaines: 31.9
Kendrick was only pegged with one catch allowed on one target, but his tackling was poor, missing two tackles on the day. Long was a frequent target in coverage, giving up five catches on five targets for 63 yards.
Lewis saw his role reduce with Michael Hoecht stepping up to replace Justin Hollins, and in the eight pass-rush snaps Lewis had, he didn’t record a pressure.
Gaines only had three tackles and one pressure in the game.
Other notables
- RB Kyren Williams: 62.6
- OLB Michael Hoecht: 59.9
- LB Bobby Wagner: 59.3
Williams played more than Akers and though he didn’t have any huge gains, he was effective, especially in pass protection.
Hoecht came in and finished with two pressures and six tackles, so it was a productive game for him in place of Hollins.
Wagner finished with his second-lowest grade of the season.
