Leonard Floyd also had an outstanding performance, arguably the best of his career.
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Cameron DaSilva/Mon, November 16, 2020
The Los Angeles Rams faced their toughest test of the season on Sunday, and they passed it with flying colors. They beat the division-leading Seahawks 23-16, but the game wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
The Rams led for most of the afternoon thanks to yet another stellar performance from the defense, holding Russell Wilson to only 248 passes without a touchdown and picking him off twice.
Here are the studs and duds from Los Angeles’ statement win in Week 10, led by a pair of outstanding cornerbacks.
Stud: Darious Williams
There may not have been a better player on the field at SoFi Stadium than Darious Williams on Sunday. He caught as many passes from Russell Wilson as DK Metcalf did, picking off the Seahawks quarterback twice – both of which were phenomenal plays. He also broke up a few other passes, one of which was in the end zone as Williams leapt and fully extended to knock a potential touchdown pass away. Quarterbacks don’t have many options when attacking the Rams secondary because Williams has become an absolute stud opposite Jalen Ramsey. He always seems to make opponents pay when they target him, which is the mark of a great cornerback. Williams could be on his way to a Pro Bowl selection this season.
Stud: Jalen Ramsey
There was no bigger matchup in Week 10 than Ramsey against DK Metcalf. Except, it wasn’t much of a battle at all. Metcalf caught two passes for 28 yards, both of which came against zone coverage. Ramsey didn’t allow a single catch to Metcalf and his coverage was so good that Wilson didn’t target his big receiver until the end of the third quarter. Ramsey has lived up to his contract thus far and played lights out for the Rams. Shutting down Metcalf is no easy task considering how dominant he’s been this season, but Ramsey stepped up to the occasion and held him in check.
Stud: Leonard Floyd
There were a lot of skeptics when the Rams signed Floyd to a one-year, $10 million contract, which was fully guaranteed. His sack totals were decreasing by the year, recording just three sacks last season for the Bears. Well on Sunday, he had three sacks, recovered a fumble and hit the quarterback five times. He also had a team-high six pressures, according to ESPN
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, which is always impressive when you play on the same defense as Aaron Donald. He now has seven sacks on the year, which matches a career-high, and we’re only nine games into the season. It helps that Donald gets doubled more often than not, but Floyd has rounded into a quality pass rusher for the Rams. This was one of the best performances of his career.
Stud: Josh Reynolds
Believe it or not, but Reynolds has received more targets (27) in the last three games than Robert Woods (19) has. That’s a surprising development, but also an indication of how often Reynolds gets open for Jared Goff. On Sunday, he caught eight passes for 94 yards, seeing 10 passes thrown his way. All of those numbers are career-highs, too. He did have one drop, but Reynolds has really come on as a quality No. 3 receiver and a perfect complement to Woods and Cooper Kupp. He was the team’s best wideout on Sunday, which is saying something considering the company he keeps.
Stud: Jared Goff
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
After a disastrous performance against the Dolphins in Week 8, Goff was much better against the Seahawks. Though he didn’t score a touchdown, he still
completed 27 of 37 passes for 302 yards and didn’t throw an interception. He moved the ball efficiently and accurately, making quality throws to all areas of the field. He only had two real misses, which were deep throws to Reynolds and Tyler Higbee – the latter of which just glanced off Higbee’s fingertips. Of his 27 completions, seven were at least 10 yards downfield, with four being at least 19 yards beyond the line. The lost fumble was disappointing, but it was a relatively clean game for the Rams quarterback.
Dud: Kai Forbath
Another week, another poor performance by a Rams kicker. Forbath made his only field goal attempt, a 23-yarder, but he missed a PAT wide left in the third quarter to keep the game within 10 points. Even his 23-yard make was barely good, just slipping inside the left upright. The Rams have Austin MacGinnis on the practice squad and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get a chance with Forbath looking shaky. They need to figure something out because missing at least one kick in eight of nine games is not going to get the job done.
Duds: Micah Kiser and Kenny Young
Kiser settled in a bit as the game went on, but he was really exposed early in this contest. On the opening drive alone, he appeared to blow a coverage on Greg Olsen’s 22-yard reception, then was blown off the ball easily on Alex Collins’ 13-yard touchdown run. He did make 12 tackles, but none were for a loss and they weren’t exactly impactful stops. The Rams need better play out of their inside linebackers, and that includes Young, too. He played 29 snaps (43%) but only made one single tackle and was hard to find on the field.