San Francisco Frontiers - Rams rediscover offensive balance in 35-21 victory over Raiders

After starting the regular season with six weeks of chaos and disappointment, the Los Angeles Rams appeared to turn a corner in Las Vegas.

And around that corner was a blueprint for how the Rams (3-4) still might become the Super Bowl contender almost everybody thought they would be.

Los Angeles’ convincing 35-21 win over the Raiders was its most impressive effort of the season. Coach Sean McVay’s best teams usually have been able to outscore any mistakes on both sides of the ball, and the Rams’ offense put on a grinding performance that shot them to a 25-point lead in the first half with four touchdowns on their first five drives.

The ground game was the key, with Kyren Williams rushing for 99 yards and Blake Corum adding 93. The Rams dominated possession, racked up first downs and rarely relied on a big pass play to bail them out of bad down-and-distance situations.

“That was the first game (where) we were really able to do some of the things that have been in alignment with when we’ve been able to operate at a pretty decent clip offensively,” McVay stated Monday. “Both Blake and Kyren did a great job. To get them both involved and get the amount of touches that they did, and really to get the amount of rushes off while still being able to … I was really pleased with that.”

Before Vegas, the Rams had thrown the ball on roughly 64% of their offensive snaps this season, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. McVay considers a strong ground game to be the foundation of his offenses, but he has historically leaned on Matthew Stafford’s arm in times of trouble.

With the Rams down to one trusted wide receiver in the absence of injured star Davante Adams, McVay had more reason than ever to run the ball — and to line up in the three-tight-end sets that dominated their offensive game plans during the best stretches of last season.

Los Angeles ran the ball 38 times and threw only 29 passes against the Raiders, racking up a season-high 199 yards rushing — over the Rams managed in the previous two games combined. Williams and Corum were the first Rams duo to have at least 90 yards rushing and a touchdown apiece since 2001.

The Rams’ defense also came through again, yielding just 128 yards in the first half and keeping Las Vegas out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

What’s working

Even with only three tight ends in uniform, McVay used all three on half of the Rams’ offensive snaps. Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee combined for 11 catches, 82 yards and two touchdowns while also blocking zealously. The trio could get help soon if the practice window opens for injured Terrance Ferguson.

What needs help

The Rams are still committing penalties at a much higher rate than a normal McVay team, and Corum had two rushing touchdowns taken off the board by flags. Los Angeles was whistled for seven penalties for 90 yards.

Stock up

With Trent McDuffie sidelined by injury for the second straight week, Jaylen Watson had a monster game, allowing just two short catches on 10 targets and breaking up four passes despite covering both receivers and tight ends. Watson and McDuffie have been everything the Rams wanted them to be. Cornerbacks Josh Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes also had stellar moments in coverage.

Stock down

The special teams’ stock could not be lower, and the units made numerous errors again. The punt coverage team was victimized by a successful fake punt for a first down, while the kickoff coverage unit gave up a 42-yard return and a 36-yard return. Jordan Whittington even misplayed a simple kickoff touchback, costing LA 15 yards of field position. “It was not good enough,” McVay said. “We’ve talked about this a lot, and it’s just got to get fixed.”

Injuries

McVay claimed the Rams haven’t decided whether to open the practice window this week for the eventual returns of DE Myles Garrett or Ferguson. Garrett has missed six straight games following knee surgery.

Key number

1 — The total number of passes caught by a Rams wide receiver not named Puka Nacua in Vegas, with Konata Mumpfield barely hanging on to a 15-yard reception in the second quarter. McVay and Stafford didn’t try to give Adams’ role to anybody else, but instead adjusted their offense to fit the personnel available.

Next steps

The 0-6 Chargers are coming off a bye week in which they rethought their entire offensive approach, but the Rams can’t afford a slip against their SoFi Stadium roommates midway through the softest five-game stretch of their regular season. The Rams already used up that wiggle room by losing to rebuilding Arizona a week ago.

Q.Taylor--SFF