PFF grades: Time to worry about Braden Fiske?

Braden Fiske finished Jets game with a run grade in the 30’s. He’s struggled in this facet all season.

Sunday’s win against the New York Jets was all-important for the Los Angeles Rams, especially considering the rest of the NFC West division fell flat on their face.

The San Francisco 49ers, who were already all but eliminated from the postseason, lost again to the Miami Dolphins to officially dash their hopes of contention. The Arizona Cardinals dropped a closely competitive overtime game versus the resurgent Carolina Panthers, which also eliminated them from the playoffs.

That leaves the Seattle Seahawks who lost to the Minnesota Vikings. They’ll need help and at least a win over the Rams in Week 18 in order to have a chance at the postseason.

But this post isn’t about the playoffs or standings, it’s about the individual contributions that helped Los Angeles get over the hump to defeat the Jets. Let’s dive into the PFF grades:

Top five grades on offense:

1 – Alaric Jackson, LT: 86.3

On a day where the Rams ran a limited game plan and leaned heavily on the rushing attack, Jackson earned an “elite” run blocking grade at 90.6. He allowed a single pressure in pass protection on a day where the offensive line allowed just three pressures as a whole. Rookie center Beaux Limmer gave up the other two pressures.

2 – Puka Nacua, WR: 83.8

Nacua caught all eight of his targets for 56 yards on a day where the Rams didn’t push the ball downfield much. As we will discuss shortly, Matthew Stafford finished with an average depth of target (ADOT) of 3.7 yards. Nacua alone had an ADOT of 0.6 yards, which means most of his targets came at the line of scrimmage. It was a strange game for LA’s passing attack.

3 – Kyren Williams, RB: 82.8

With the Rams not getting much production through the air—or really attempting many downfield passes—Williams chewed up the Jets on the ground. He grounded out 122 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. Williams forced two missed tackles and earned 82 of his yards after contact.

4 – Hunter Long, TE: 78.9

The most memorable play Long made on Sunday—in a negative way—was the illegal motion that erased a 38-yard run by rookie Blake Corum. Putting that aside, Long played 19 total snaps with 13 as a run blocker. He finished with a near-elite run blocking grade of 85.8 and played an important role in opening running lanes for Williams.

5 – Kevin Dotson, RG: 77.5

Kevin Dotson was best in pass protection, earning a grade of 85.4. He’s been a force at right guard this season and has been amongst the best in the NFL at the position over the last two seasons.

Other notes on offense:

Last week versus the 49ers was Stafford’s worst game of the season individually. He wasn’t much better against the Jets in this game while LA was running a very conservative game plan. This is the type of approach you’d expect a team to run if they were starting a rookie quarterback or Jimmy Garoppolo, and this is even despite the Jets missing Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner for most of this matchup.

Stafford’s ADOT was at 3.7 yards. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 110 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. PFF credited the veteran with no big-time throws and a turnover-worthy play. The interception he threw was ugly, and was odd considering the limited game plan the Rams were deploying.

Are the Rams dumbing down the offense because they felt this was the best approach against a frisky Jets defense? Did something worry Sean McVay about this matchup? LA will need Stafford at this best if they want to do damage in the postseason.

Top five grades on defense:

1 – Jared Verse, OLB: 77.7

Verse led LA with four pressures on a day where they didn’t affect Aaron Rodgers much. The Rams only had nine pressures on the day as a unit, which has to be one of their lowest outings on the year.

Verse also fared well on the ground and finished with a run grade of 69.2. He did not miss a tackle, which has been an issue that has plagued him for most of this season.

2 – Kamren Curl, DB: 75.5

One of the biggest plays on Sunday came with Curl as a pass rusher where he poked the ball loose from Rodgers grasp and forced a turnover—a fumble recovered by Verse.

Curl graded out roughly average in run defense in coverage, though he made the most of his only pass rush opportunity.

3 – Desjuan Johnson, DE: 67.9

Johnson played only seven snaps (five versus the pass) and made his presence felt in limited action. His workload may suggest that the Rams feel he is a better pass rusher than run defender at this stage of his career.

4 – Tyler Davis, DT: 67.1

Davis has been coming on strong of late, and it’s not surprisingly anymore to see him crack the top five. He played 20 snaps in this game that were roughly split between run and pass. He best graded as a run defender with a mark of 69.6.

5 – Quentin Lake, DB: 64.6

Lake played 11 snaps in the box and another 45 in the slot. He played as a traditional safety on just 13 plays.

If you’re going to play in the slot, you need to hold up as a run defender—and Lake made good on that versus New York. He finished with a grade of 78.5.

As the nearest defender in coverage, Lake was targeted seven times allowing five catches for 30 yards (32 after the catch). Not a bad day at the office.

Other notes on defense:

Is it time to be concerned about Braden Fiske? The rookie finished with a run defense grade of 38.6 in this game. On the season he’s at 43.5. The Jets didn’t get much production on the ground Sunday, but it’s worrisome that Fiske continues to grade poorly in this facet week in and week out. He has only two run defense marks above 70 on the season, and those are generally considered two of his best outings: the first coming against the Chicago Bears in Week 4 (90.6 overall grade) and versus the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 (78.4).