Winners & Losers: It wasn’t pretty, but Rams get the job done in NY

Rams keep winning, stay atop NFC West division race

It wasn’t pretty, but the Los Angeles Rams took down the New York Jets on the road in cold elements. The final score was 16-9. LA moves to 9-6 and will stay in first place of the competitive NFC West. The next two games against the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks will determine which team takes the crown, while the San Francisco 49ers are all but ruled out from contention.

Who rose to the occasion to get the Rams over the hump in New York? There were several individual efforts that kept LA on the winning side of this contest.

Winners

Kyren Williams, RB

Of course, anytime a running back is on the “winners” list and averaged over five yards per carry, you have to give credit to the offensive line for opening up running lanes.

Still, it appeared that Williams consistently created yardage beyond was the big guys up front blocked up. He often ran through contact and kept his legs moving to find hidden production. Williams scored one of only two Rams touchdowns on the day, and finished with 23 carries for 122 yards (5.3 average, 13 long).

Williams was the most consistent part of the LA offense on Sunday.

Jordan Whittington, WR

Rookie wide receiver Jordan Whittington is buried on the depth chart behind Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell, but he’s still finding ways to be a useful contributor. He made two impressive special teams plays against the Jets, including catching a punt midair in the end zone and tossing the ball into the awaiting arms of Jake Hummel in order to down a punt at the one yard line and stave off a touchback. He also recovered a muffed punt by a Jets returner that effectively sealed the game.

Whittington is a good football player, and he should figure more into the offensive plans in 2025.

Jared Verse, OLB

The box score won’t look very impressive for rookie phenom Jared Verse, but he was very disruptive in this game both versus the run and against the pass. In terms of pass rushing production, Verse won consistently and put Aaron Rodgers under duress. Verse also played physical against the run and put big hits on New York ball carriers.

Kamren Curl, DB

One of the biggest plays of the game was Kamren Curl’s sack on Rodgers that poked the ball loose. This takeaway gave the Rams the ball deep in Jets territory, and they made the most of the opportunity by scoring a touchdown with Tyler Higbee.

Curl has been productive when asked to blitz, and he continues to make an impact in this facet.

Tyler Higbee, TE

Higbee made his 2024 debut after suffering a significant knee injury in last year’s wildcard playoff game. While he didn’t make much of an impact in the first half, he did score one of the Rams’ two touchdowns. It was only his first game back, and he already made one of the most impressive plays by a Rams TE all season. He’s a clear upgrade over the rest of the players LA as at the position.

Losers

Ahkello Witherspoon, CB

Rodgers picked on Witherspoon early, who started in place of Cobie Durant who was medically cleared from his lung contusion but did not play in this game. It would be surprising to see Witherspoon start over Durant once the younger corner is fully recovered, and given the nature of the injury it makes sense why the Rams would want to rest Durant.

Still, Witherspoon is an obvious downgrade from Durant. He played well last week against the San Francisco 49ers, but he looked lost at times in New York.

Matthew Stafford, QB

Matthew Stafford played his worst game of the season last week versus the 49ers. These are some of the Rams most important games of the season, and he isn’t playing his best football when it’s required. Williams and the run game was the only part of the offense that was working consistently. Puka Nacua had 56 receiving yards, but every other Rams receiver was kept under 24.

Stafford completed 14 of 19 passes (73.6%) for 110 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. It’s never good when your running back finishes with more yards than your quarterback.

The Rams have run the Jimmy Garoppolo (very limited, low-risk) game plan for Stafford the last two weeks, and they’ll need to lean on the ground game until their signal caller shows he can heat back up.