Los Angeles Rams Rushing Attack Revival Difference in Win vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Los Angeles Rams only had three carries for five yards at halftime on Sunday, but that trend was quickly reversed.

It was a tale of two halves for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon, both on the scoreboard and in the ground game.

L.A. trailed 9-6 at halftime on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, featuring an offense that seemed, at best, to be out-of-sync. The Rams had five rushing yards on three carries at the end of two quarters of play, and that, in turn, made things difficult in the passing game for quarterback Matthew Stafford and his receivers.

Coming out of the locker room, however, it seems that head coach Sean McVay was determined to emphasize the rushing attack in the second half, and he did just that. The Rams ran nine-straight plays on the ground, and that helped unlock running back Kyren Williams who finished the day with over 150 yards in that category, helping lead the Rams to a 26-9 win at home.

Oct 8, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) carries the ball past Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zach Cunningham (52) in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Williams finished the day with a stat line of 158 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

The Rams entered the week near the bottom of the league in rushing yardage with 470, but perhaps leaning on the ground game is an answer to some early-season struggles we have seen in Los Angeles. If nothing else, it takes some pressure off of Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp who missed the beginning of the season with a hamstring injury.

With Stafford at quarterback, the Rams will never be a "ground-and-pound" franchise. He's too talented, but having a rushing attack that teams respect (even fear) does a lot to provide balance on offense and take some heat off of your quarterback.

Who wouldn't sign up for that? After all, it seemed to work on Sunday.