New York Giants Week 16: Examining the Los Angeles Rams Offense

The Los Angeles Rams offense has been red hot of late. Brandon Olsen dives into their offense.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Dec 28, 2023 12:00 PM EST

In this story:

There are just two games left for the New York Giants this season; this week sees them face the Los Angeles Rams and that offense that seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now.

Personnel

For years, he was one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL, but Matthew Stafford has been getting the long overdue recognition with the Rams. It appears that Stafford and head coach Sean McVay were a match made in heaven when it comes to running a highly efficient offense.

Stafford has taken a step back in volume this season, but he’s having one of the most efficient, if not the most efficient, years of his career. Stafford has a turnover-worthy play on just 1.6% of his dropbacks in 2023, the lowest percentage of his career. He’s also gotten more willing to just throw the ball away in the face of danger instead of taking unnecessary hits and losing yardage.

Second-year running back Kyren Williams has taken over this year as the bell-cow back after receiving just 44 scrimmage touches last year. Williams hit the 1,000-yard mark last week with a 104-yard performance against the Saints and has had 100+ yards in three straight games and five of his last six.

At the Combine in 2022, Williams ran a 4.7 40-yard dash, and everyone wrote him off. With his vision and contact balance, though, he consistently finds the right lane and makes defenders pay if they don’t meet him with aggression.

The Rams have lived out of 11 personnel, with their receivers being Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Tutu Atwell. Kupp and Puka have been the primary pass-catchers, as the Rams' offense is sometimes more about force-feeding receivers, with Tutu being more of a deep threat than anything else.

Nacua and Atwell have been thrown into the mix on jet sweeps, end-arounds, and reverses.

Tyler Higbee is the only player who sees significant playing time at tight end. Higbee’s been a reliable option as always this season, even with his volume decreasing significantly with the emergence of both Puka and Tutu.

Scheme

The McVay scheme may be the most complete offensive system in football. There’s a reason that McVay assistants find new jobs so easily, anything to get a piece of that offense.

While the offense used to be the pillar of the wide zone running offense, the Rams have shifted to become the most gap-heavy team in the NFL right now, partially due to the assistant coaches McVay hired this past offseason.

Something evident when the Rams are on offense is their usage of condensed sets, whether it’s three receivers bunched up to one side or two receivers on each side of the offensive line, the Rams keep everything tight to the ball. This allows them to hide the ball better on play fakes, which is a key part of their offense and allows players to pull across the formation to block.

The Rams frequently operate out of what I call 11.5 personnel, something only the Rams and Browns utilize similarly. It’s really 11 personnel, but pre-snap motion with a receiver like Nacua puts him in a position to function as a glorified H-back. Whether the motion brings Nacua into the backfield as a fullback or makes him more of a tight end, his tenacity as a run blocker allows the Rams to go “light” with three receivers but still be hammers in the run game.

What This Means for the Giants

On the bright side, this Giants defense has been great against gap-based teams this season in their limited experience. The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are both gap-heavy run games that the Giants held to a combined 21 points. My bigger concern comes from the Giants' tackling falling off in recent weeks.

Regarding the passing game, the Giants need to keep their eye discipline when the Rams want to break out the eye candy, whether that’s pre-snap motion into play action, misdirection runs, or receiver hand-offs. Linebacker discipline is vitally important to keep this offense in check.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Giants run more blitzes using the slot or a safety near the line of scrimmage instead of blitzing the interior. Blitzing off the edge could allow the defensive back(s) to get around the offensive line easier, whereas a blitz from an off-ball linebacker would send the rusher right into the teeth of the offensive line or Kyren Williams in pass protection.

Final Thoughts

With how the Giants have contained gap runs this season, it bodes well that the Rams have shifted more toward that style. Given how important discipline is, there’s a reasonable concern that the youth on the defensive side of the ball here can cause issues.