Ram Digest

Cam Akers’ Rams Streak Reaches Todd Gurley Level

Cam Akers continues to serve as the Los Angeles Rams' most consistent beacon of offensive hope in these desperate final hours.

Geoff Magliochetti

It likely won't be anything that'll get NBC's cameras to come to film their final game of a brutal season against the Seattle Seahawks, but the Los Angeles Rams will still have a little something to play for next Sunday.

Squeezing the positives out of a futile SoFi Stadium civil war with the Los Angeles Chargers is a quick, if not desperate, affair, the Rams (5-11) supremely outclassed by the playoff-bound 31-10 victors. But the Rams could still take a bit of solace in the performance of a strong run game, one that put up 166 yards in defeat and provided the team's only touchdown, a 23-yard tally for Malcolm Brown.

Granted games with absolutely nothing to lose ... not even draft positioning ... Akers has taken full advantage, putting him in strong standings with the great grounder attackers of franchise lore: with 133 yards, including a game-best 123 rushing, Akers is the first Rams running back to earn at least 100 from scrimmage in three consecutive since Todd Gurley in 2018. 

Akers' steps in the right direction are perhaps a brilliant way to enter the new year, as one of the many haunted subplots of this Super Bowl defense gone horribly wrong was his surprise scratchings in the early stages of the season. Now, Akers appears to be a staple on a group that could be forced into making changes to avoid another disaster like the 20222-23 has brought ... provided, of course, he has eliminated any thoughts of a trade that reportedly surfaced over the fall. Those ideals on both sides have apparently dissipated, as Akers declared he'd "love to be a Ram for life" according to the LA Times. 

"I think you're seeing a complete back," Rams head coach Sean McVay said in Sunday's aftermath. "He’s creating when there isn’t anything there ... He’s making plays in the passing game. There’ll be some things we can continue to clean up because of the standards that we have for him, whether that be playing without the ball, but I think Cam deserves a ton of credit for the way he’s hitting his stride right now the way he’s playing."

"Hopefully we finish off the regular season the right way and he can use this to be able to build some momentum into the offseason because I’ve been really pleased with Cam.”

Over the past three weeks, Akers is second amongst all running backs in yards from scrimmage with 380, trailing San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey by only nine. In addition to his dual-threat abilities in yardage situations, Akers went somewhat viral amongst Rams fans for a punishing block on Nasir Adderley that denied the Chargers a sack and led to a 21-yard reception for Brycen Hopkins. 

Upon the Rams' early elimination, Akers vowed to continue approaching the final stanzas of the season as if another championship opportunity lingered. While it appears not everyone in blue and yellow has gotten the message, he's keeping his end of the bargain and then some.

"That's the only thing I can do, make the most of my opportunities with and without the ball," Akers declared, per the team's official site. "I come to work to go to work. I'm just playing football, everything else is just extra."

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Geoff Magliochetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCHETTI

Geoff Magliochetti

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