Ram Digest

Aaron Donald cooks, Rams breeze past Washington

L.A. takes care of Washington, looks forward to San Francisco next week
Eric D. Williams|
Aaron Donald cooks, Rams breeze past Washington
Aaron Donald cooks, Rams breeze past Washington

With a much-anticipated contest against the San Francisco 49ers awaiting them next week, the Los Angeles Rams did not look past the Washington Football Team, winning on the road 30-10 at Fedex Field on Sunday.

The Rams improved to 4-1 with the win, completing a season sweep of the NFC East for the first time in franchise history. The Washington Football Team fell to 1-4 on the year.

Key play: The Rams took control of the game on a 56-yard pitch and touchdown catch from Jared Goff to Robert Woods, giving them a 13-7 lead. However, up 20-7 with 2:21 left in the first half, Washington quarterback Kyle Allen was sacked by L.A. cornerback Jalen Ramsey on a bone-jarring hit that knocked the Houston product out of the game with a shoulder injury. Ramsey was called for targeting on the play. The injury led to the return of Alex Smith to the field after nearly two years of rehab from a gruesome leg injury, which I detailed here. Smith expectedly struggled, finishing 9-of-17 for 37 passing yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Smith was sacked five times. Allen was cleared to play, but did not return.

Top player: Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald tormented Washington’s offense, matching a career high with four sacks on the day, the fifth time in his NFL career that he’s recorded at least three sacks in a game. It’s Donald second, multi-sack game of the season and his 21 in the NFL. Donald has 7.5 sacks on the year in five games and 39.5 sacks since 2018.

What I liked: Quarterback Jared Goff was efficient once again for the Rams. He started the game 10-of-10 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Goff finished 21-of-30 for 309 yards and also scrambled for a score on a 2-yard run. However, Goff also threw his third interception of the season and fumbled on a sack that was recovered by right tackle Rob Havenstein. … Playing for injured linebacker Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder finished with a game-high 10 combined tackles and three sacks. The Rams finished with eight sacks on the day… Tight end Gerald Everett led the Rams with four receptions for 90 yards.

What I didn’t like: The Rams struggled to run the football for early on, finishing with just 61 rushing yards through three quarters. The Rams had just one rushing yard in the third quarter … L.A. failed to create a turnover on defense. … Kicker Samuel Sloman missed his second extra point of the year, this one wide left on the opening touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge up the middle by Darrell Henderson Jr. Sloman did rebound, making two extra points and a 38-yard field goal. … The Rams struggled to get their screen game going for a second week in a row.

Injury report: Inside linebacker Micah Kiser was not active due to a groin injury. Outside linebacker Ogbo Okoronkwo an elbow injury in the second half and did not return. ... Rookie safety Jordan Fuller appeared to re-injure his shoulder late in the game on a big hit, taking Washington running back J.D. McKissic to the ground.

Up next: The Rams face the NFC West defending champs, San Francisco, on the road at Levi’s Stadium in a nationally televised game on Sunday at 5:20 p.m. local time. 

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Eric D. Williams
ERIC D. WILLIAMS

Eric D. Williams covers the Rams for Sports Illustrated. He worked for seven seasons covering the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN.com, and before that served as the beat reporter covering the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune.

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