When the NFL released the 2023 schedule, the Week 5 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles was not seen as must-see TV outside of the fans of those two teams. The Eagles are the defending NFC champions, and the Rams were portrayed as a team in full rebuild with little to go on. But even without Cooper Kupp (hamstring) in the first four weeks of the season, Sean McVay’s passing game has been one of the league’s most interesting, and one of the toughest to stop. And the pointman has been BYU rookie receiver Puka Nacua, the fifth-round pick who has exceeded all expectations.
Nacua’s 22-yard touchdown in overtime to send his team to a 29-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday was just the latest play in what has become a historical season to date.
STAFF! TO PUKA! FOR THE WIN!!
📺 @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/BvaBnPEJD8
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 1, 2023
Nacua’s 39 receptions is the most for any first-year receiver in his first four pro football games — and in fact, he’s already passed Reggie Bush for the most receptions for any rookie in his first FIVE games. Nacua also has the most receiving yards (501) for any rookie receiver, and he’s the first rookie with three 100-yard games in his first four opportunities, joining Harlon Hill of the Chicago Bears in 1954.
So, it’s clear that Nacua is a natural fit for what McVay and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur are cooking up this season. In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how the Rams are controlling the middle of the field with simple concepts that work exceedingly well.
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Now, let’s get into this surprising Rams passing game — and why it could be a major issue for the Eagles’ defense.
Using Nacua's understanding of zone leverage.
We’ll start with a concept the Rams hit the Colts with twice in the first half for big gains. On both plays, Van Jefferson ran a vertical route to one side of the field, and it was Nacua’s job to use his acumen to find the voids in the Colts’ zone coverage to present himself open to Matthew Stafford on the intermediate crosser.
The first play, a 26-yarder with 7:03 left in the first quarter, had Nacua running up past linebacker depth as Jefferson’s vertical route took the opposite cornerback and the post safety out of the picture.
The second play, a 32-yarder with 8:40 left in the first half, was an example of second verse, same as the first. Again, Jefferson took the post safety out, and again, Nacua’s nuanced understanding of Cover-3 won the day.
You will notice that slot defender Kenny Moore II wasn’t matching Nacua across on either of those plays — his switch to match led to a Stafford interception with 5:23 left in the third quarter. Maybe McVay went to the well once too often!
Hi-Lo concepts further confused the Colts.
“What I think McVay does really well with formations and motion — he gets to basic concepts that are relatively simple reads for the quarterback,” Greg said. “They had a play [against the Colts] and they ran it twice from different concepts, and different people in motion. I’m sure you remember the play where Nacua went in motion from left to right, and then released inside the tight end. He ended up catching a crosser, and all that was, was a Hi-Lo concept to the hook defender on the side where he ran the crosser. He took two defenders to the side that Nacua was initially on, and they simply ran clear routes — Tutu Atwell ran a wheel route, and Van Jefferson ran a vertical route. And they just cleared it out.
“When you play the Colts, you know you’re going to get Cover-3. And it just ended up being a different way to get to a Hi-Lo concept.”
This was a 32-yard Nacua catch with 8:40 left in the first half, and you can see how the routes run by Atwell and Jefferson stretch the Colts’ Cover-3, allowing Nacua to further display his mastery of zone voids over the middle.
“They did it again on the first play of overtime,” Greg continued. “Nacua caught a 20-yarder, and it was the exact same concept, gotten to in a totally different way. Nacua was not the motion man on this one, but the concept of the play was exactly the same. All they’re doing is a Hi-Lo, and Hi-Lo is pretty common, and it’s a basic read for the quarterback.”
This time, Atwell went in motion, but as Greg said, it was the same clear routes — Atwell on the wheel, Jefferson on the vert, those routes stretching coverage, and Macua taking advantage. The Colts played Cover-4 this time, but with a similar result — a big-time completion that eventually led to Nacua’s game-winning touchdown.
This could be a big problem for the Eagles' defense.
Against the Colts, Stafford completed eight of 12 passes of 10 or more air yards on passes charted over the middle, to the middle left, and to the middle right for 186 yards, 123 air yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 102.8. The Rams face the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday, and Stafford could eat against Philly’s defense with these kinds of concepts. The Eagles have allowed 60 completions over the middle this season on 90 attempts for 676 yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 106.5.
We’ve detailed how Stafford carved up the Colts’ frequent use of Cover-3 (hello, Gus Bradley), and Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai might want to stray away from that general idea. Desai’s defense has played Cover-3 on 43 opponent attempts this season, which ranks eighth-highest in the league. They’ve allowed 33 completions for 304 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 111.0.
Against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, the Eagles faced a similar vert/crosser combination, with Jordan Addison running the vertical route to take coverage off the top, and Jefferson crossing at an intermediate level. When deep safety Justin Evans and cornerback Josh Jobe went with Addison, it was Darius Slay following Jefferson across. As good as Slay is, that’s not a recipe for success against any cornerback.
These equations becomes especially interesting if Cooper Kupp is able to return for the first time this season as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
