Rams do just enough to knock off the Saints

Weekly snap review, Who played? And who played well?

It wasn’t quite Mardi Gras, but the Los Angeles Rams, behind a punishing ground game and bend-but-don’t-break defense, paraded past the New Orleans Saints 21-14. The win enabled L.A. to stay relevant in the chase for the NFC West division top spot.

You have to give the Saints credit, they came out with a good gameplan. Neutralize the Rams pass rush with underneath passes and consistently attack from the tackles outward in the run game. Shorten the game and hope for late big play.

The Sean McVay offense sputtered badly in the first half, but pulled itself together to score three touchdowns in the second half. With only seven drives for the whole game, getting three over the goal line was tantamount to victory.

The defense was again pierced by the run game, but held its mud in the red zone and only allowed 14 total points. The Rams did a lot of stunting and sim blitz looks, (on one play they rushed only one defender) to keep the New Orleans passing game off kilter and except for one fail, forced the Saints to stay underneath.

On the weekly snap count review, we see who played? And more importantly, who played well?

Quarterback

An efficient performance from Matthew Stafford (56, 100%). He had some trouble with accuracy early, but when the whole offense adjusted course, he hit big plays and got the Rams into the end zone. It was imperative to score touchdowns, L.A. only had seven total drives for the game, not counting the kneel down at the end. His twisted ankle looks to be okay for Buffalo.

Running back

Is it just me, or is keen competition a strong motivator? We saw all the best attributes of Kyren Williams (38, 68%) on display. Sure, a lot of it was a strong offensive line performance, but with Blake Corum (18, 32%) getting meaningful snaps and showing he can tote the rock, Williams had real giddy-up in his step.

Wide receiver

Although their average depth of target is down, Cooper Kupp (51, 91%) and Puka Nacua (44, 79%) continue to be a top pairing. The key is staying patient and continuing to feed them short until McVay loosens things up.

While his snaps are down from earlier in the season, Demarcus Robinson (34, 61%) is still the Rams de facto deep pass and red zone threat.Even though his snaps are down by half from last year, Tutu Atwell (22, 39%) is quietly on track for his best production season as a pro.

Snaps for Tyler Johnson (8, 14%) again trended down and he was targeted just once, an uncatchable wild-high ball in the end zone. Although Jordan Whittington (6, 11%) didn’t make an impact on offense, he did have a couple of nice kickoff returns. Interesting that Xavier Smith (2, 4%) wasn’t used on kickoff returns, this duo would appear to be the best combination.

Tight end

Again, L.A, did not use any two-tight end sets. Generally speaking, the unit blocked okay, incrementally better than usual. The Rams used quite a bit of mid zone which got the defense moving, some wham blocks out of motion and on others, ran a kinda-sorta misdirection away from the tight end motion.

Only two targets on the day with Colby Parkinson (20, 36%) getting the lone reception. Hunter Long (19, 34%) had an uptick in snaps and got the other target. On the Tutu Atwell reverse, he was pancaked by the Saints safety coming in to defend the play. Although he started, it was Davis Allen’s (18, 32%) turn in the backseat after four weeks.

Offensive line

There were a few breakdowns in pass protection, but the run game rolled from the start. Even on a bad ankle, I had Alaric Jackson (56, 100%) giving up two pressures. Beaux Limmer (56, 100%) had two bad pass pro reps. On the first, he ducked his head, and missed his punch, leaving him off balance and easily beaten, although Stafford was able to get rid of it. He did good work on the second, but Stafford held the ball a touch too long and the defender got a hustle sack.

The mid and inside zone run gameplan really worked out. Steve Avila (56, 100%) and Kevin Dotson (56, 100%) did a good job of moving defenders or or getting reach blocks to seal off lanes, depending which way the play went. Rob Havenstein (56, 100%) was solid after missing a couple of games. One sack came around his end, the Saints defensive tackle ran a loop around the corner while Hav was tied up with the edge rusher.

Special teams

No news about the specialists is always good news. Placekicker Josh Karty (3), punter Ethan Evans (10), and Alex Ward (6) all handled their business.

Defensive line

Hard to put a number on what value Kobie Turner (53, 76%) provides. Even without the AD effect, his production numbers are on target to meet or exceed last years and now he gets to take on the double-teams. Braden Fiske (48, 69%) is whirling dervish continuously creating havoc.

Bobby Brown’s (28, 40%) snaps were down a bit this week and he played about to form. He had 3-4 good plays and a few stalemates, but was mostly moved aside. Much the same for Neville Gallimore (21, 30%). His snaps are down in three straight weeks and has played less than ¹⁄₃ of the game in each. For the season, he has one pressure and five solo tackles in 181 reps.

Snaps for Tyler Davis (20, 29%) were down from the past two games, but the Rams used a lot of different formations to keep the Saints off guard. Desjuan Johnson (13, 19%) got his biggest workload since Week 2.

Edge

The Rams broke tendency by not using all three edge players together. Instead, they used a lot of sim blitzing with a variety of players stunting and faux charging/dropping back. The Saints answered with a quick, underneath pass game to cool the Rams pressure.

Jared Verse (55, 79%) still had three QB hits and should have been credited with a strip sack on Saints final play. He showed in this game that he will be true dual threat. he’s not just a pass rusher and can be a stopper in the run game as well. As a rookie, Byron Young (50, 71%) seemed to hit a wall at this point of the season. He was quiet against the Saints, but overall his production numbers are on a higher plane than 2023 and he’s played 70 fewer snaps. Michael Hoecht (39, 56%) continues at about a 60% snap rate. Nick Hampton (3, 4%) got the active nod and a little mop up work.

Off-ball linebacker

Another strong outing for Christian Rozeboom (63, 90%), while Omar Speights (45, 64%) continues to improve. They combined for 22 tackles and ‘Boom broke up a pass

Safety

L.A. used a lot of big nickel and dime formations to answer the Saints use of two tight ends. Quentin Lake (70, 100%) played an overall good game, but was beaten bad on one of the few deep passes the Saints threw, luckily it was dropped. Kam Curl (70, 100%) was relatively quiet, he broke up a pass and had three tackles, one a real thumper. Although it was his fewest snaps in four games, Kam Kinchens (30, 43%) continues to show progress on taking tackling angles. Jaylen McCullough (21, 30%) is playing less pseudo-linebacker with the growth of Speights and getting more work deep.

Cornerback

No action for Ahkello Witherspoon this week, down from 38 and 44 in the past two games. The Saints were running a short, timing offense and had three throw’s over 10 air yards. Darious Williams (70, 100%) was burnt for the Saints only touchdown (28) and the following conversion. The most aggravating part was how was flat-footed he was, allowing receivers to run right past him.

Although allowing a few receptions, Cobie Durant (70, 100%) did a good job of contesting them. In weeks 5. 6, 7, Josh Wallace (1, 1%) averaged a hair under 50% of snaps, but only had five since.

Active, but did not play

CB Ahkello Witherspoon, QB Jimmy Garappolo, OL Joseph Noteboom, Joshua Jackson OL

Inactive

QB Stetson Bennett, RB Cody Schrader, OL Dylan McMahon, OL Warren McClendon, E Brennan Jackson

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Not a thing of beauty, but a road win. In the end, the Rams defense gave up their fewest points of the season and made a huge stop at the end of the game, while the offense finally woke up and did just enough to pull out the victory.

The season-long problems on both sides of the ball are still there, but the important thing is L.A. rolls on and stays attached to the top of the NFC West and its opening-round, home playoff game. At longer odds, they remain one game out in the loss column and still within shouting distance of final wildcard berth #7. At .500 and 13 weeks into the season, it’s great to have that much to root home.