Winners & Losers: Rams survive Cardinals, win 10th game of season

Ahkello Witherspoon stole Kyler Murray’s Christmas with game-winning interception

Akhello Witherspoon stole Kyler Murray’s Christmas by securing a game-winning interception that bounced off Trey McBride’s helmet. The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 13-9 in Week 17.

This victory gives LA their 10th win on the season as they look to put a bow on their improbable comeback after a 1-4 start. The Rams are hoping they get the help they need from other teams to seal the NFC West division before their Week 18 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks rolls around.

After the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos on Saturday night, the Rams just need three wins from the following teams out of these five games in order to wrap up the division title:

• Washington Commanders over Atlanta Falcons
• Buffalo Bills over New York Jets
• Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers
• Cleveland Browns over Miami Dolphins
• San Francisco 49ers over Detroit Lions

Pessimists would call this LA’s third-straight ugly win, but the bottom line is they are staying on the right side of these outcomes and are putting together a strong streak ahead of a potential postseason berth.

Who stood out on an individual level to get the Rams over the hump in this game?

Winners

Puka Nacua, WR

Puka Nacua was the Rams offense on Saturday. He accounted for 129 of the team’s 257 total yards (50.2%). No other receiver had more than 29 yards.

Nacua hauled in 10 of his 14 targets for 129 yards, with a large chunk of the production coming after the catch point. He longest reception was 25 yards.

Defensive Line

It’s tough to point to a single individual that stood out along the defensive line because they all played well at times.

Byron Young started strong early and used his athleticism to keep the scrambling Kyler Murray at bay. He finished with a sack.

Braden Fiske was consistently disruptive and had two sacks.

Jared Verse forced a pressure that turned into the sack Young got credit for. He also had an important pressure on Kamren Kinchens’ pick.

Kobie Turner had a sack too.

Michael Hoecht blocked an extra point kick.

Ahkello Witherspoon, DB

Witherspoon had a few tough moments in coverage, but ultimately all that matters is his game-sealing interception of Murray. Credit to Witherspoon to catch the ball inches off the turf and maintain control while the ball touched the ground. Any movement of the ball would have negated the interception, and this was a high degree of difficulty play.

Kamren Kinchens, DB

The rookie from Miami grabbed his fourth interception of the season. At the time this seemed to be an important play, but the offense squandered their opportunity to take time off the clock and make a comeback difficult for the Cardinals.

Kinchens’ ball skills continue to shine through.

Ethan Evans, P

Evans finished with four punts that were either downed, returned, or out of bounds within the opponent’s 20-yard line. In a game where neither team is putting up many points, maintaining an advantage in field position is of the upmost importance.

Losers

Joe Noteboom, RT

It was mildly surprising to see Noteboom get the starting nod over second-year tackle Warren McClendon. Noteboom did not perform well in this game and was evidently the weak link on the offensive line.

The veteran swing tackle was flagged for holding three times, which at times derailed promising Rams possessions.

Cooper Kupp, WR

Fans used to admirably refer to third down as “third and Kupp”, but the veteran receiver dropped a relatively easy catch that would have given LA a new set of chains. That was difficult to watch, and is evidence that Kupp is not his reliable self—at least right now.

He finished with a single reception for 29 yards and was targeted three times. Yes, his efforts as a blocker are important in this offense, but he’s not contributing in the ways we’ve come accustomed to.

Matthew Stafford, QB

Despite not turning the ball over, Matthew Stafford largely reckless for most of this game—particularly in the red zone. The Cardinals had multiple pass breakups in their own end zone, including a dropped interception by Budda Baker.

This game was also a stark juxtaposition in terms of what a mobile quarterback can bring to the table. The Rams’ pass protection has to be largely perfect in order for their passing attack to operate, but Murray was able to create and extend plays despite missing his two starting tackles and being under constant duress by the pass rush.

The last three games have been some of Stafford’s worst outings on the season. If he doesn’t turn things around quickly, the Rams could easily find themselves losing the division to Seattle or being bounced in the playoffs again in the first round. Sean McVay’s play calling doesn’t exactly suggest confidence in his signal caller.

Stafford completed 17 of 32 passes (53% completion) for 189 yards.

Cobie Durant, CB

Durant has clearly lost his job as a starting outside corner to Witherspoon. This was the second-straight game where Durant was mostly on the sidelines despite being medically cleared following his lung injury. I don’t think he played a single snap on defense in this game.

Do I think Witherspoon should be starting over Durant, no. But we will see how this decision plays out.