Expectations were not high for the Los Angeles Rams going into the 2023 season, making their Week 1 performance on the road against the Seattle Seahawks extremely impressive.
With Cooper Kupp already out after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, not many people gave the Rams a chance against the Seahawks, a team that’s on the rise after unexpectedly making the playoffs last year.
But Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and Co. went on the road and put up a near flawless performance, coming away with a 30-13 victory to start the season 1-0.
The Rams actually went into the halftime locker room trailing 13-7 after a slow start for the defense, although they came out and dominated in the second half, outscoring the Seahawks 23-0 to earn the win.
It was a masterclass by McVay and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as the Seahawks had just 12 total yards in the second half. While the coaches deserve a lot of credit, so do the players as young guys stepped up on both sides of the ball for L.A.
Let’s start on offense, where the Rams’ young weapons came through big time in Kupp’s absence to give Stafford some support.
Rookie Puka Nacua had the best debut for a Rams receiver arguably ever as Stafford targeted him a game-high 15 times, hauling in 10 receptions for 119 yards. Stafford has a great connection with Kupp, that’s no secret, but it seems he’s starting to build some chemistry with his young receivers like Nacua as well.
It wasn’t just Nacua that Stafford was finding though as Tutu Atwell also had his best game, finally showing what the Rams saw when they drafted him in the second round out of Louisville. Atwell used his speed all day, getting open down the field with Stafford and McVay getting him the ball in open space for six catches for 119 yards.
The Rams were also committed to the ground game and although they did not have much success, they did in the red zone with their running back duo of Kyren Williams (two) and Cam Akers (one) combining for three touchdowns on the day.
With these young weapons starting to emerge, McVay and Stafford have to be excited about what this offense can be when Kupp returns, especially if the offensive line continues to play at a high level with the Rams quarterback not being sacked in the season opener.
While the offense was encouraging though, the biggest surprise for the Rams against Seattle was the play of their defense, pitching a shutout in the second half.
Multiple young players contributed to that as Ernest Jones led the way with nine total tackles while Jordan Fuller had eight. Byron Young gave the Rams a nice pass rush with four tackles, 0.5 sacks and two quarterback hits while Aaron Donald looked like his usual dominant self with four tackles and 0.5 sacks.
The Rams’ defense will remain a question mark moving forward due to their inexperience, but it’s good to see some young players starting to emerge as potential long-term starters for L.A.
Up next for the Rams…
There is no time for the Rams to celebrate their Week 1 win as they have an tough division matchup in Week 2 when they welcome to San Francisco 49ers to SoFi Stadium.
The 49ers took care of business in Week 1 with a 30-7 road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, displaying just how strong their roster is. It certainly won’t be an easy task for the Rams in Week 2 knowing they have traditionally struggled against San Francisco and Kupp will again be out, so it will be up to McVay and Morris to again put together a good game plan to give L.A. a chance to win.
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