Los Angeles Rams Notebook: Kyren Williams, Trench Battles Dictate Another NFC West Win
For all of this season’s struggles, the Los Angeles Rams sure know how to win divisional games. After Week 12’s 37-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles advanced to 4-1 within the NFC West.
Sunday’s action kept the Rams’ playoff hopes alive, if only by a strand. The Rams played complementary football all day long, but it was the return of running back Kyren Williams that made the headlines.
In his triumphant return from injured reserve, Williams once again burned the Cardinals’ run defense, creating explosives and keeping the offense two-dimensional. Even without receiver Cooper Kupp at full strength or any particularly remarkable pass-catching showings, the offense remained on schedule.
How were the Rams able to advance to 5-6?
Rams running back Kyren Williams celebrated one of his scores with fans who made the trip to Arizona.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
1. The Kyren Williams show has returned.
Williams’ final attempts before hitting injured reserve came against this Cardinals defense, and he was out for blood in his return. Despite Sean McVay making a concerted effort to limit his touches, giving running back Royce Freeman 13 carries, Williams made the most of his touches.
He ran 16 times for 143 yards, including a 56-yard explosive play. Williams made his impact through both the ground and air. He led the Rams in receptions with six for 63 yards. Two of those resulted in scores.
Williams was quarterback Matthew Stafford’s second-most frequent target on Sunday.
The return fueled the victory. Los Angeles maintained control of the game for the final three quarters and was able to ruthlessly melt clock and work its way downfield. The Rams couldn’t have asked for more from McVay’s new favorite toy.
2. Los Angeles’ pass rush came to play.
The Cardinals didn’t have many opportunities to make this much of a game in the second half, but when they did, the Los Angeles pass rush put an end to it.
Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray was sacked four times on Sunday. Defensive tackle Kobie Turner racked up two by himself. Linebacker Michael Hoecht and defensive end Desjuan Johnson found the others.
Murray completed just 27-of-45 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t turn the ball over, Los Angeles was able to keep Murray pressured for most of the contest. Subsequently, he sacrificed efficiency for ball security, limiting the upside of the offense as a whole. Just 14 points later, the Cardinals would fall to 2-10.
3. Kyler Murray was turned into a pocket passer.
Part of the pass rush’s success came in a way that won’t show up in the box score. The Rams kept contain on virtually every down.
Whether it was mostly a result of Arizona’s game plan or Los Angeles' strong play can be difficult to intertwine, but Murray simply did not scramble as much as he was expected to.
Murray ran just once, for two yards and a score. Furthermore, the Cardinals were hesitant to let Murray loose. Outside of a single read-option at the goal line, Murray’s scampered largely resulted in sacks.
Without Murray rushing, with whatever intention, the entire Arizona offense struggled. The Cardinals ran 15 times for 73 yards and were operating with minimal explosive plays.
Murray was not his typical self from within the pocket, either. His -0.16 expected points added per play was a 22nd-percentile performance, and his completion percentage over expected of -7.6 was equally poor.
It was another strong outing from the Rams' defense that has gotten hot at just the right time. They’ll face another mediocre offense next week against the Cleveland Browns.
