It was well known that the Los Angeles Rams had a favorable matchup in London on Sunday afternoon, facing the winless Cincinnati Bengals. They took care of business and head home at 5-3 after beating the Bengals 24-10.
The score was much closer than it probably should have been, and it was tied at 10 in the first half, but Los Angeles will take wins any way it can get them.
The Rams got back to basics on Sunday with plenty of man coverage on defense and a lot of 11 personnel offensively, which led to solid performances on both sides of the ball. A closer look at the snap counts from Week 8 shows how Sean McVay managed the game, starting with the offense.
Offense
- After Todd Gurley scored his touchdown early in the third quarter, he never got another touch. It was all Darrell Henderson from that point forward, leading to the rookie getting more touches and rush attempts than Gurley. Henderson played just two fewer snaps than Gurley, too, but was more productive (69 yards on 13 touches vs. 44 yards on 10 touches). Gurley’s limited playing time had a lot to do with the score in the second half, allowing the Rams to give him a rest.
- Gerald Everett had been rising the priority list in terms of targets on offense, but he was hardly involved on Sunday. He played just 30 snaps, which was surprising considering Brandin Cooks left the game with a concussion. Tyler Higbee wasn’t much of a factor, either, playing just 34 snaps and receiving one target.
- Josh Reynolds stepped up with Cooks going down, playing 89% of the snaps. The Rams relied heavily on 11 personnel this week, likely because the Bengals were missing two starting cornerbacks, which McVay wanted to take advantage of. Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods played nearly every snap, too.
Defense
- Jalen Ramsey’s playing time was limited in his debut last week, but he played every single snap on defense Sunday. He was barely targeted by Andy Dalton, either, leading to a fairly mundane game for Ramsey.
- Nickell Robey-Coleman was called upon a lot in Week 8 with Tyler Boyd, a slot receiver, being the Bengals’ biggest threat on offense. Robey-Coleman has had better performances, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Troy Hill and Darious Williams manned the other cornerback spot with Williams playing 24 snaps. Hill had a good game, but Williams struggled in coverage.
- Taylor Rapp is unquestionably a starter at safety, playing every single snap. Marqui Christian continues to get a lot of work with the Rams using three-safety sets often, playing 75% of the snaps himself.
- Troy Reeder was only on the field for 10 snaps Sunday, which continues the trend of Wade Phillips using more dime packages than base 3-4 sets. It’s worked so far, but the Bengals did get things going on the ground against the Rams’ lighter defensive front.
- Ogbonnia Okoronkwo played less than half the snaps Samson Ebukam did, but he was far more impactful. Don’t be surprised if the playing time gap between those two players narrows in the coming weeks with Okoronkwo playing so well. Clay Matthews’ return will obviously impact both players’ snap counts, but Okoronkwo deserves some run.
