Studs and duds from Rams' Week 8 win over Bengals

[Riverumbbq]

By: Cameron DaSilva | 1 hour ago


The Los Angeles Rams won their second straight game on Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals, beating Zac Taylor’s squad 24-10 in London. It wasn’t the huge blowout some were expecting, but that was partly because the Rams took their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter.
It was still an impressive performance by both the offense and the defense, however, limiting Cincinnati to just 10 points. Here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s win.

Studs

Cooper Kupp

Kupp had the best game of his career on Sunday, catching seven passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals had no answer for the third-year receiver in this one, running loose all over the field for big play after big play. The highlight of the game was a 65-yard score by Kupp on a trick play, but he also had several other big gains where he did most of the work himself after the catch. He made life easy for Jared Goff, running crisp routes and getting wide open on numerous occasions.

Dante Fowler Jr.
Fowler has been on a tear of late, recording 4.5 sacks in his last two games. He had 1.5 in this one, adding two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss, as well. He finished with four tackles, too, and won a good number of his pass-rush reps on the edge. His play the last couple of weeks has taken some pressure off of Aaron Donald inside and forced opponents to respect him as a pass rusher.

Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
Don’t look now, but Okoronkwo has quickly turned into one of the Rams’ better edge rushers in recent weeks. He had 1.5 sacks on Sunday and nearly had another one, too, but he was unable to wrap up Dalton. Okoronkwo finished with two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss to go along with two total tackles. He’s coming into his own as the third pass rusher at outside linebacker behind Fowler and Samson Ebukam.

Troy Hill
Hill did get beat by Auden Taint on an inside route for a 19-yard gain, but that was really his only lapse all day. He broke up a pass on the goal line to prevent a touchdown and on the following play, he was in coverage on another pass into the end zone. Hill has stepped up nicely in Aqib Talib’s absence and is likely a reason the Rams are reportedly open to trading the veteran corner.

Darrell Henderson Jr.
He may not be the starter, but Henderson has looked like the Rams’ best running back lately. He was shifty and elusive on Sunday, making defenders miss in the open field and turning what would’ve been short gains into longer runs. He finished with 11 carries for 49 yards, and three catches for another 20 yards.


Duds

Nickell Robey-Coleman
Robey-Coleman has had better games than this one. Tyler Boyd beat Robey-Coleman several times in the slot, catching six passes for 65 yards – most of which came with Robey-Coleman in coverage. He nearly gave up a touchdown reception on the Bengals’ final drive, too, but the pass was ruled incomplete after review.

Eric Weddle
This also wasn’t Weddle’s best performance. He missed one key tackle on Joe Mixon and didn’t have any impact plays in coverage, and in run support, he struggled a bit, too. Marqui Christian was arguably the best safety on the field Sunday, while Taylor Rapp also had a solid performance.

Rob Havenstein
Havenstein continues to have a disappointing season. His unnecessary roughness penalty was questionable and likely shouldn’t have been called, but he also had issues in pass protection against the Bengals’ edge rushers. Although Goff wasn’t sacked in the game, he was pressured a few times by rushers off the left side of the defensive line where Havenstein was blocking.

Studs and duds from Rams' Week 8 win over Bengals

The best and worst performances by Rams players on Sunday afternoon.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[Riverumbbq]

5 takeaways from the Rams' 24-10 victory over Cincinnati

By: Steve Rebeiro | 2 hours ago


The Los Angeles Rams snuck out of London with a 24-10 victory over the winless Cincinnati Bengals. It wasn’t an inspiring win, but it was a win nonetheless, and the Rams will head into their bye week with a 5-3 record. Here are a few key takeaways from the battle across the pond.

Cooper Kupp shines in statement performance

Kupp has been hailed as Jared Goff’s “safety blanket” since he was drafted by the team in 2017. Goff has tended to look Kupp’s way far more than the other receivers on the team when he’s been on the field. His absence was felt during the team’s playoff run last season. The team was ecstatic to have Kupp back in the lineup for this season.
Kupp has proven that he’s far more than a safety blanket through the first eight games of the season.
The third-year receiver dominated in London on Sunday, hauling in seven of his 10 targets for 220 yards and a touchdown. It was a statement game for Kupp, who now has 792 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the season. Kupp had been making a solid case to appear in his first Pro Bowl up until this week. After today’s game, he’s making a case for an All-Pro appearance. Expect Goff to continue to feed his favorite target in the second half of the season.

Concern over Cooks’ health following second concussion this month
Brandin Cooks exited Sunday’s matchup with the Bengals after the team’s third offensive snap of the game. Cooks lowered his head after trying to make a catch and was met with an opposing player’s helmet. He was later ruled out with a concussion.

Cooks also suffered a concussion against the Seahawks a few weeks prior. He’s now suffered four total concussions in his career.

The NFL does not take concussions lightly, and the team will certainly make sure Cooks goes through all the proper protocols before he can return to action. These injuries can add up in a frightening way. It remains to be seen what the next steps will be when it comes to Cooks, but there has to be concern here.

On the bright side, Josh Reynolds once again proved his worth and had a stellar day filling in for Cooks. The Rams will be able to weather the storm if Cooks has to miss some time.

McVay chooses to punt away second half
Todd Gurley took a pitch play to the house five minutes into the third quarter for his first touchdown of the game. The run gave the Rams a 24-10 lead. After the score, Gurley hurled the football as far into the crowd as he could. The toss was significant, as it symbolized Sean McVay’s decision to essentially throw away the rest of the second half.

The Rams chose to take their foot off the gas pedal following Gurley’s touchdown. Gurley himself was pulled from action in favor of rookie Darrell Henderson, and the star running back was able to get some much-needed rest. McVay would also pull other starters from the game periodically during the second half. The Rams punted the football on their final four possessions.

While pulling Gurley was probably the right move, the Rams’ poor play offensively in the second half wasn’t fun to watch. The Rams had a chance to blow the doors off of Cincinnati in the second half, but McVay decided to take it easy on his former protege Zac Taylor. The Rams decided to take their ball and go home after securing an “insurmountable” 24-10 lead over the winless Bengals.

Jared Goff plays his best game of 2019
After struggling to live up to his shiny new contract for the majority of this season, Goff came out swinging against the Bengals in Week 8. Goff orchestrated four picture-perfect drives during the first 35 minutes of the game. Goff was able to find receivers wherever he wanted, avoid sacks, and take care of the football.

Goff’s trip to London was a much-needed bounce-back performance. After struggling to take care of the football early on this year, Goff has now gone three games without a turnover. He didn’t take a sack for the third time in four weeks. The fourth-year quarterback was able to take care of business against a measly Bengals defense.

Despite the weak series of drives to end the game, this was still Goff’s best performance of the 2019 season. Hopefully it doesn’t stay that way, considering it wasn’t that impressive of a game overall when you factor in the second half. Goff needs to continue his hot streak following the Rams’ bye week.

The Rams head into their bye week in uninspiring fashion
Had the Rams gone into their Week 9 bye with back-to-back blowout wins, it would be tough to not feel good about this team. But the Rams chose to take the foot off the gas pedal in London, and went home with a 24-10 victory over a hapless Bengals team.

The Rams head into the bye week at 5-3. They’re in third place in the NFC West with an 0-2 divisional record and in seventh place in the NFC overall.

McVay and the Rams have had some moments of brilliance this season, but there’s been plenty of the opposite. Their 20-7 loss against the 49ers was an embarrassment, and their loss to Tampa Bay has aged poorly.

Still, the Rams are the only team to beat New Orleans this season, and are a missed field goal away from being 6-2 and controlling a wild card spot. There is enough talent on this roster to make a run in the playoffs. But the Rams will have to continue to cover up their flaws if they want to be playing in January. They’ll have plenty of work to do over the long break.

5 takeaways from the Rams' 24-10 victory over Cincinnati

The Rams snuck out of London with a 24-10 victory over the winless Bengals. See the five of the biggest takeaways from the victory.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[Riverumbbq]

Jalen Ramsey apologizes for 'getting bored' in coverage vs. Bengals

By: Cameron DaSilva | 2 hours ago


Jalen Ramsey was tested often in his Rams debut last week against the Falcons, but he was rarely challenged in coverage by Andy Dalton and the Bengals on Sunday. Dalton didn’t look Ramsey’s way very often, limiting the cornerback’s chances in London.
He gave up one big play late in the game, allowing a 52-yard catch to Alex Erickson downfield. Afterwards, Ramsey took to Twitter, apologizing for “getting bored” in coverage after not being tested much.

Ramsey finished with six tackles in the game but no passes broken up.

 

[hotanez]

Jalen Ramsey apologizes for 'getting bored' in coverage vs. Bengals

By: Cameron DaSilva | 2 hours ago


Jalen Ramsey was tested often in his Rams debut last week against the Falcons, but he was rarely challenged in coverage by Andy Dalton and the Bengals on Sunday. Dalton didn’t look Ramsey’s way very often, limiting the cornerback’s chances in London.
He gave up one big play late in the game, allowing a 52-yard catch to Alex Erickson downfield. Afterwards, Ramsey took to Twitter, apologizing for “getting bored” in coverage after not being tested much.

Ramsey finished with six tackles in the game but no passes broken up.

Yikes, I'd feel better if he said I just got beat but bored? I wonder if AD ever gets bored

 

[kurtfaulk]

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I agree that Christian has looked much better as a starter this time round. I may have been too quick to dismiss his ability to play safety. Hopefully he can keep it up when the rams start playing better qbs.

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[FaulkSF]

Agreed on the call against Havenstein. Havenstein went high on a double team block with Blythe, the pass rusher got knocked on his ass. Nobody blocked low, should not have drawn a flag.

If they call that, refs need to flag all chip blocks.

 

[oldnotdead]

Funny how they always seem to miss Blythe's poor play. A missed pass block causing Goff to throw a poor ball, and a complete whimp-out as he got tossed aside and Gurley gets tackled for no gain. In this game he was just as bad as Rob overall. Neither one should be starting.

As far as Goff is concerned, it's really common that a young QB should followup a great year with a not so great year. That is the learning curve for the position. Learning to correctly read defenses is an art that only experience teaches. Could he do better? Yes he could, but is he playing badly? No he's not and he just needs to keep pushing through the games, good and bad, learning as he goes and hopefully growing in the process. I see growth, as well as struggles, but his upside is undeniable.

 

[Farr Be It]

Yikes, I'd feel better if he said I just got beat but bored? I wonder if AD ever gets bored

I know. His character and playing style smell way too much of Marcus Peters.

He is more talented and tough than Peters, but drop the excuses- BS.

 

[jap]

I wonder if the Horns are considering moving Bobby Evans to RT and sliding Hav inside to RG. Have may be taller than ideal for a guard, but at least he would not face many speed rushers while blocking inside. Of course, the question is: is Evans ready to handle the load on the edge?

Of course, there is also Corbett to consider for the RG slot as well.