The Rams have had to start and play a bunch of players they never expected to this season, simply out of need due to injury. Not only were they extremely thin along the offensive line, but things were made even worse when Matthew Stafford and Ty Nsekhe both went down with injuries.
That left Bryce Perkins and Bobby Evans to finish the game against the Saints, which the Rams ultimately lost, 27-20. Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds from Sunday’s loss, dropping the Rams’ record to 3-7 on the year.
Stud: Leonard Floyd
Floyd has had a surprisingly quiet season on the edge, going the first six games without a single sack. He had two against the 49ers in Week 8 and he added another two-sack performance Sunday against the Saints. Floyd finished with five tackles and two sacks, doing a nice job on the outside for Los Angeles. He still needs to pressure quarterbacks more consistently, but this was a nice performance for the veteran edge rusher.
Stud: Greg Gaines
Like Floyd, Gaines also had a solid game against New Orleans. He helped limited the Saints to 88 yards rushing, 52 of which were by the versatile Taysom Hill. Alvin Kamara was held to 42 yards on 12 attempts, an average of just 3.5 yards per carry. But what’s more impressive is that Gaines came up with two sacks from his nose tackle spot. That gives him three sacks on the year, more than doubling his season total.
Dud: Tyler Higbee
Higbee has regressed considerably this year, especially as a receiver. Though he finished the game with four catches for 45 yards, 20 of those came on the final drive, which was essentially meaningless. He also dropped a pass in the second half and despite being targeted a team-high eight times, he finished third on the team in receiving. No other player was targeted more than five times.
Dud: Bobby Evans
Well, at least we know Evans can’t hold up at tackle, either. He replaced Ty Nsekhe at left tackle after the veteran got hurt, and he struggled just as badly as he did earlier in the year at guard. He was called for holding late in the first half, which thankfully didn’t end up costing the Rams, but his poor blocking on the edge later in the game did. He allowed a sack in the fourth quarter and gave up consistent pressure, struggling to get outside in pass sets.
Dud: Darrell Henderson Jr.
For whatever reason, Sean McVay doesn’t trust Henderson right now. He got two carries early on, which he turned into 9 yards, but after that, he didn’t touch the ball a single time. He wasn’t even targeted in the passing game once. No injury was reported for Henderson, so it seems McVay just favored Cam Akers and Kyren Williams over him.
Dud: Taylor Rapp
Rapp made one nice play in the first half to break up a pass in the end zone and prevent a touchdown, but that was one of the only times he showed up in a positive way. He got beat for a touchdown by Jarvis Landry on a quick slant, and a few plays earlier, he took a terrible angle on a screen pass to Alvin Kamara to allow a big play. The icing on the cake was when he and Jalen Ramsey got burned over the top by Chris Olave for a 53-yard touchdown.
Dud: Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey was in coverage on not one, but two touchdowns Sunday. The first was against Juwan Johnson, an 8-yard pass from Andy Dalton. Ramsey pleaded to the official that Johnson pushed off, but it wasn’t enough for a flag. Later on, Olave beat Ramsey deep for a 53-yard score, simply running by the Rams DB. Ramsey has certainly had better days than the one he put together in New Orleans.
