Rams’ biggest lesson after tough, injury-filled loss in Detroit? Don’t let this compound

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5755151/2024/09/09/rams-matthew-stafford-offensive-line-loss/?source=emp_shared_article

DETROIT — They have been here before, and so have I, and so have you.

The Los Angeles Rams, already without two starting tackles and a starting cornerback entering their Sunday Night Football game at Detroit, lost backup left tackle Joe Noteboom (ankle) and starting left guard Steve Avila (knee) as well as young star receiver Puka Nacua (knee) to injuries mid-game. Starting right guard Kevin Dotson, one of the few stalwarts left on this tattered offensive line, left Ford Field wearing a walking boot on his left foot.

By the end of the 26-20 overtime loss, backup receivers Tyler Johnson and Jordan Whittington had subbed in for Nacua and rookie sixth-round draft pick Beaux Limmer was at center, while center Jonah Jackson was back at left guard (the position the Rams signed him to play via a three-year, $51 million contract before flipping him to center and Avila back to left guard about two weeks ago).

It felt eerily similar to moments in the 2022 season, when a historic series of offensive line injuries carried a ripple effect into the rest of the roster and imploded the season. McVay took the podium after those games with a twisted face and knotted shoulders. Sunday night, while obviously upset by the loss, McVay did not seem despondent.

“First of all, it’s a choice you make in terms of, ‘let’s pour into the guys (we have),’ ” he said. “We’re developing depth. We’re going to learn from the things that have occurred in previous years. And if guys get injured, then you know what? It’s our job to get those next guys ready to roll.”

Astoundingly, the Rams clawed their way back from a 17-3 deficit in the third quarter. With 10:29 remaining in the period, a new center (Limmer) and right tackle (AJ Arcuri) and no Nacua, Matthew Stafford was 5-for-5 for 45 yards and running back Kyren Williams ultimately punched in a touchdown.

On a drive beginning with 1:31 left in the third quarter, Stafford hit Johnson on a 2-yard catch, after which Johnson’s hard, savvy running picked up an extra 61 yards. Stafford’s calm despite his situation up front — and perhaps McVay’s, too — was on no better display than during a cluster of sequenced plays on the Rams’ go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter after an interception by veteran safety John Johnson III.

Stafford got the ball back on the Los Angeles 20-yard line and dealt a few passes around to get to about midfield. The Rams subbed speed threat Tutu Atwell into the game, indicating a deep shot was coming, as Stafford and McVay observed the Lions playing their defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage. As the ball was snapped, the Lions’ defensive backs rotated into a single-high look and Atwell did run a deep concept to the right — but Stafford instead hit an open Kupp on the opposite side of the field for 20 yards and ultimately set up Kupp’s 9-yard touchdown catch a few plays later.

Stafford appeared to get his ankle rolled over early in the game. He was hit 12 times and sacked twice. The makeshift offensive line allowed 22 pressures on 49 pass attempts (45 percent) according to TruMedia’s early Monday morning accounting. An Arcuri holding penalty nullified a touchdown pass with 13:28 in the fourth quarter that ended up a field goal.

“They were big,” said McVay of the penalties, sighing. “We got the looks that we wanted. … And you know what? That’s part of it. There (were) a lot of great individual plays. There (were) a lot of guys that stepped up. … Those guys that were playing tonight, led by Matthew, gave us a chance.”

While Stafford threw an interception in the end zone in the second quarter on second-and-8, Stafford and Kupp, with an assist from veteran role players Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson, were the reason the Rams not only were competitive but also took a 20-17 lead with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.

The play Stafford most wanted back? A third-and-10 pass from the Rams’ own 22-yard line that he intended for Kupp but sailed off-target, that would have taken the game to the two-minute warning with the 3-point lead.

“I know he’s going to feel like he’s going to make every throw,” Kupp said. “It’s tough. We had a route on, and the DB went to undercut and I adjusted to cut off the undercut and try to guarantee the throw. He saw the undercut and tried to throw it high. It was one of those situations where we’re both making the right decision, it just wasn’t the same decision.”

Stafford walked to the sideline afterward with his hands clasped over the top of his helmet. It was the only sign during the entire game that Stafford was upset — and it was at himself.

“Yeah, that was the game, had a chance to win it,” said Stafford. “Every game, there’s plays you want back. That is definitely one of them. I like to think that I can hit that throw a bunch of times in a row.”

In overtime, a visibly gassed Rams defensive front was gashed in the run game by 60 rushing yards, including a 1-yard touchdown by David Montgomery. It felt how the game looked. Again helpless to the circumstances, Stafford could only watch as the game leaked out of he and the offense’s hands run by run.

“They just got some good removal, they got some players in space versus some man coverage looks and they made the plays, and Montgomery was breaking a bunch of tackles,” McVay said. “You could really see that. I’ll go back and look at the tape, (but) like I said, I was really proud of this group.”

There were plenty of positives to take from the still-evolving defense as a whole. Safety/nickel Quentin Lake was everywhere on the field, vacillating from the second safety in the Rams’ two-high base defense, to the coverage-versatile “Star” on passing downs. Lake’s open-field tackle in space on Jameson Williams on second-and-10 with 38 seconds left and the Lions down three points not only prevented a touchdown, but also set up a known passing down that fell incomplete and held Detroit to a field goal.

The Rams’ defense may not have even gotten to that tenuous a situation if it weren’t for an unnecessary roughness foul against Kam Kinchens five plays earlier. The defense certainly wasn’t perfect — 5.3 yards per carry allowed, a few missed tackles and two explosive plays on a first-half touchdown drive that amounted to 50 of the drive’s 77 yards — but it also held Detroit to 6 of 13 on third down and 2 of 4 in the red zone, kept them at 17 points while the offense scored 17 unanswered of its own, and were visibly more aggressive, especially on short-yardage, middle-of-the-field passing plays that used to chip away at them.

There are enough bright spots to string together that could build a very, very good team. But if the Rams’ offensive line gets any more decimated than this, it will be hard to see what can be possible through all the murkiness. The injuries handcuffed McVay’s play sheet Sunday night, forcing more “regulated” calls. Missing Nacua does the same, and while Johnson’s 79 receiving yards on five catches in his place helped quite a bit, Stafford’s rapport with the second-year receiver is unmistakable.

The sour memories seep in on a night like Sunday. In 2022, Rams’ offensive linemen fell one after another in a doomed drumbeat. Hardly a game went by without a new injury or two, and reserves came from practice squads and couches across the league with few positive results. Stafford got battered. He and Kupp switched to an unsustainable brand of hero-ball before their own season-ending injuries, and McVay disappeared so far into his own head he could have been lost to coaching for good.

Then he — they — came back. The lessons learned during that season shape all those who were present to this day. If we thought we saw the fruits of their dismal 2022 experience manifest through the pleasant surprise of last season, we might have been wrong. We might actually see it now.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
early TruMedia accounting shows Matthew Stafford was pressured on nearly 45% of his pass attempts. To piece an offense together – minus Nacua – in the second half tonight like Stafford did was kind of astounding but absolutely not sustainable.

Rams Bros.@RamsBrothers
Per @NextGenStats, Stafford’s time to throw thus far is 2.16 seconds. Fastest of his career since 2016. Think it has anything to do with the offensive line?

Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
OLB Jared Verse (@JaredVerse1) became the fourth rookie in franchise history to record 1.0 sack in his debut, joining Kyle Borland (1987), Kevin Carter (1995) and Robert Quinn (2011).

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Sean McVay: “I think Rob (Havenstein)’s return is sooner than later.”

Next Gen Stats@NextGenStats
Cooper Kupp had 42 snaps and 12 touches in motion in Week 1, the most by any player in a game over the last seven seasons.

Kupp was in motion at the snap on 30 plays, 6 more than any other player in a game over that time span.

Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
Cooper Kupp said he saw “vintage” Matthew Stafford on Sunday night.

“He was battling out there,” Kupp said. “I think he rolled his ankle up or something early on, but no one would know. He’s not making a fuss about it or anything like that. But we can tell he’s hurting.”

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
“I thought tonight was a good indicator of the physical and mental toughness of this group” – Sean McVay

Rams Bros.@RamsBrothers
Damn. Helluva effort from this #Rams team. They were dismantled by injury in this game and still found a way to overcome a deficit and take a lead on the road. Fought their asses off for 4 quarters.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Brutal couple of holds called on Arcuri, including one that nullified a Jordan Whittington touchdown.

I [saw] Steve Avila (ruled out, knee) down on the side with some sort of large brace around his knee. He’s talking through stuff on the tablet with Beaux Limmer, who is now at center.

RAMS REPORT@RamsNFLReport
Insane how frequently Detroit has gotten away with late hits on the QB going back to the playoff game last year. It’s happening all over again. Dirty players but it doesn’t matter when the refs don’t care.
.
roberto clemente@rclemente2121
very bright spot: the donaldless rams defense showed up big by holding last year’s #3 home scoring offense to just 20 points in regulation and keeping the rams in the game from start to finish – big tip of the hat to rookie dc chris shula for getting these guys ready to play!

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Now you see why Tyler Johnson is the 2 behind Nacua.

joemad wrote:

Why did McVay take a Dan Campbell stupid pill midway through the 2nd qtr and go for  it on 4th and 4 on the Detroit 23?  You shouldn’t do stupid shit like that…

And if I remember right, Lions scored after getting the ball back on downs. So a 10 point swing.

From https://www.therams.com/news/top-rams-news-previews-predictions-rams-at-lions-week-1-2024

• All five of NFL.com’s analysts have picked the Lions to beat the Rams on Sunday Night Football. Read why Brooke Cersosimo chose Detroit here.
• One of the seven Sports Illustrated/The MMQB’s staffers, Conor Orr, picked the Rams to win in the season opener. All of their Week 1 predictions can be seen here.
• Of ESPN’s 11 experts, one chose the Rams to come out on top in Week 1: Seth Wickersham. Picks for every game can be viewed here

The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue on QB Matthew Stafford and C Jonah Jackson’s dynamic and returning to Detroit

“Do I feel the crowd? Yeah, I feel the crowd, 100 percent. Motivating factor. Love it. I’m one of the guys that walks into the opposing stadium and everybody has their headphones on, I don’t. I want to hear all of it. I want to smell it. I want to feel like it’s football. And that’s a part of football, especially going to an away game. That stuff just motivates me.” – Matthew Stafford

ESPN’s Sarah Barshop on Rams players remembering last year’s playoff loss at Ford Field

“Anybody that has something to prove, anybody that didn’t get a chance to do what they did in that last game, we have every opportunity to do what we want to in [Week 1].” – Quentin Lake

LA Times’ Gary Klein on the Rams’ rookie kicker, Joshua Karty, embracing the pressure in his debut

“Why not just jump straight into the deep end? I definitely like high-energy environments. It’s just a lot of fun.” – Joshua Karty

LA Daily News’ Adam Grosbard on Puka Nacua staying grounded after huge rookie season

“He’s a special dude. I know there’s a lot of things that he’s navigating and going from a fifth-round pick to having the success he had so quickly. But he’s done a great job of that.” – Cooper Kupp

Los Angeles Rams@RamsNFL
“Wherever they need me, I’m ready.” Jonah Jackson set to start at center against the Lions.

They started off slow last year too. Part of that was K Wms being out 4 games but he was not out in the opening 3 games. The first 3 games include a win at Seattle, but then 2 losses to SF and the Bengals. They ended up going 3-6 before the bye, but regrouped at the bye to go 6-1 in the 7 games where the starters played (they didn’t play the starters in the final game).

Now they’re on the road against a tough opponent and here’s what they’re missing:

CB: Wms is out we don’t know yet if Durant can play. Update via edit: Durant is playing.

ILB: They’re replacing Jones, probably with Reeder

One thing is that the CB/ILB situation could be lessened if the Rams rely heavily on their safety rotation. They are deep and talented at safety.

OL: Jackson is out, Hav might be out,  and they’re shifting things around at center.

If the relplacement OL can hold up, they could be the offense we knew from the 2nd half of last year. But if anything, deeper at WR and RB. It’s hard to say what replacing the OTs and then also experimenting at center will do to their cohesiveness, but they absolutely do have the firepower. Plus I hear that that Mort Stafford guy is a good qb.

If the young front 7 players on the DL and at edge can rise up in game 1, and like I said if they fill in the gaps by deploying multiple safeties, they could surprise us on D.

If not, it could be another situation like last year where maybe they’re not firing on all cylinders at first until they get a few guys back and then re-group at the bye—and re-grouping at the bye is something this team is good at doing. This year the bye comes earlier btw

Then they will smoke the league like a processed meat product being abruptly heated in some fashion.

…

Read the latest injury update in this thread: injury situation going into game 1…including, Darious Wms out

It is already starting to look like this is one of the years where the Rams will have to regroup at the bye.