The Rams threw 51 passes and scored zero touchdowns doing it. They're 2-2 anyway.
Matthew Stafford completed 32 of 51 for 317 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 63.9 rating, and took one sack for a loss of 8. That's the line of a quarterback who got carried, and Los Angeles should be more bothered by it than pleased with the 24-20 final from Philadelphia on Oct. 4.
The reason the Rams won is that their best offensive player didn't need the passing game to finish the job. Kyren Williams carried 16 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns, with a long of 23, and caught 10 of his 13 targets for another 67. His 7-yard run off left end with 1:10 left put Los Angeles ahead for good. Harrison Mevis converted the extra point off J.Cardona's snap and Ethan Evans' hold, and that was the football game.
Philadelphia got exactly one snap with a chance to answer. From the shotgun, no huddle, Jalen Hurts went deep left to Darius Cooper at 0:13, and Kam Curl ended it. The clock hit zero. Both teams sit at 2-2.
The consensus read on this one will be Stafford grinding out a road win in a hostile building. Grinding is the right verb, and it isn't a compliment. He threw 51 times and never found the end zone through the air. Puka Nacua gave him 9 catches for 125 yards on 12 targets with a long of 32, then scored on a 2-yard carry, a receiver doing the thing the passing game couldn't. Davante Adams turned 9 targets into 4 catches for 32 yards. Tyler Higbee's 5 for 67 was the second-best receiving line in the building, and that's a tight end in a game where the quarterback threw 51 times.
Yardage without points is the entire story. Three hundred seventeen passing yards and no passing scores means the Rams spent the afternoon moving between the 20s and handing the hard part to Williams.
He handled it. So did the defense that kept the game within reach. Byron Young posted 2.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hits and 2 tackles for loss among his 6 tackles. Nate Landman made 10 tackles. Kamren Kinchens chipped in half a sack and a pass defensed among 6 stops. Los Angeles needed all of it, because 24 points built on 51 throws and two picks is not a formula that survives a better opponent.
Here's the claim, and I'll wear it: the Rams' passing volume is a problem dressed up as a win. Williams is the offense now, offense and 80 yards at a time, and every snap Stafford spends dropping back past 40 attempts is a snap the Rams are choosing the harder way to move the ball. My bet is that if the attempts stay in the 50s and the touchdown passes stay at zero, .500 is this team's ceiling, not its floor. Whether the play-calling admits what the box score already does is the only question left.
