There wasn’t much to like about the Rams’ performance against the Buccaneers on Sunday, particularly when it comes to the offense. They gained just 206 yards and had nine first downs, one of the worst showings of the Sean McVay era.
Pro Football Focus’ grades reflected the Rams’ poor play, with very few players on offense earning high marks.
Here’s a look at the top performers on offense and defense from Week 9.
Top 5 offense
- WR Cooper Kupp: 72.7
- RG Chandler Brewer: 70.8
- WR Allen Robinson: 68.8
- LT Alaric Jackson: 66.9
- RB Darrell Henderson Jr.: 65.5
It’s telling that the Rams’ highest-graded player on offense was Kupp at 72.7, which is well below his season average and his second-worst grade of the season.
Brewer played relatively well in place of Oday Aboushi at right guard, allowing only one pressure and zero QB hits. Jackson was solid, too, earning the highest pass-blocking grade (85.6) on the team.
Henderson was the highest-graded running back on the Rams this week, rushing for 56 yards on 12 attempts.
Top 5 defense
- CB Troy Hill: 90.4
- LB Bobby Wagner: 82.8
- DT Aaron Donald: 78.6
- LB Ernest Jones: 77.4
- CB Jalen Ramsey: 73.1
Troy Hill was limited in his first game back against the 49ers but the Rams unleashed him Sunday and he excelled. He allowed four catches on eight targets, only giving up 13 yards and breaking up two passes – one of which was nearly picked.
Wagner and Jones stood out at linebacker, helping shut down the Buccaneers’ running game. Donald and Ramsey did their usual work, with Donald recording one sack and Ramsey breaking up two passes, including the fourth-down pass in the end zone intended for Mike Evans.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Brycen Hopkins: 53.9
- QB Matthew Stafford: 49.9
- TE Tyler Higbee: 45.5
- WR Van Jefferson: 42.4
- LG Bobby Evans: 35.4
There was nothing positive from this group, and four of them are starters. Stafford struggled in this one, getting very few opportunities to throw the ball because of the offense’s inefficiency – which was partly his fault.
Higbee was targeted only once and didn’t catch the pass, so it was another quiet week for him. Jefferson saw five passes thrown his way and dropped one of them, a deep crosser where he was wide open.
Evans put together another abysmal showing at left guard, finishing with a pass-blocking grade of 13.6 – lower than last week’s 15.5 grade and his third game with a mark under 20.
Bottom 5 defense
- OLB Leonard Floyd: 60.0
- S Nick Scott: 59.1
- NT Greg Gaines: 57.3
- CB Derion Kendrick: 48.8
- OLB Terrell Lewis: 42.4
Floyd and Lewis combined for three total pressures, though it seemed like Lewis was having a decent game with one tackle for a loss and a near-interception on a screen pass that he cut in front of.
Scott missed three tackles, which weighed down his grade, while Kendrick missed two tackles of his own and allowed 71 yards in coverage on 10 targets. He was also called for two pass interference penalties.
Other notables
- CB David Long Jr.: 70.0
- S Taylor Rapp: 63.6
- RT Rob Havenstein: 60.8
- C Brian Allen: 57.7
- RB Cam Akers: 54.2
Akers earned a grade of just 54.2 in his return, carrying it five times for just 3 yards. Allen allowed one sack and two total pressures, struggling against Vita Vea like Evans did.
Havenstein gave up two pressures, too. Rapp and Long gave up 39 yards combined in coverage; Long also missed one tackle.
