Grading the Rams Following Disappointing Effort Against the 49ers in Australia

The Los Angeles Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, 27-7. It was far from the type of performance that the Rams would have wanted in their season opener. Let’s grade each position group’s performance.

Matthew Stafford: D

Matthew Stafford had one of the worst games of his career with the Rams. In the first half, he was 4-for-11 for 65 yards and threw an interception. The passing game looked disjointed against the 49ers’ secondary and that starts with Stafford. His 61.2 passer rating was his lowest in a game since Week 1 of 2018.

PFF Grade: 42.3

Running Backs: A-

There weren’t a lot of positives against the 49ers, but the running backs may have been one of them. Blake Corum and Kyren Williams combined for 21 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. Corum averaged 5.4 yards per carry and displayed the same explosiveness that he showed last year. After some questions about what the workload might look like this season, Corum and Williams had a near 50-50 split.

Blake Corum PFF Grade: 70.3
Kyren Williams PFF Grade: 65.6

Wide Receivers: C-

Outside of Puka Nacua, the Rams’ wide receivers were pretty nonexistent. Nacua helped set up the Rams’ lone touchdown. However, Davante Adams had just three catches and Jordan Whittington had one reception as well. With three wide receivers on the field, the Rams averaged -0.66 EPA per play. It can be argued that this was a result of their lack of wide receiver depth.

Puka Nacua PFF Grade: 76.0
Davante Adams PFF Grade: 67.1
Jordan Whittington PFF Grade: 54.9
Konata Mumpfield PFF Grade: 53.1

Tight Ends: D+

There was a lot of speculation this offseason that the Rams were going to lean into 12 and 13 personnel. While the Rams did utilize three tight ends against the 49ers, it was a very quiet group. Colby Parkinson had the first reception for a Rams tight end in the third quarter. The group combined for four receptions for 31 yards and Tyler Higbee had a fumble. Following an offseason with a lot of excitement, Terance Ferguson was held without a catch.

Davis Allen PFF Grade: 64.9
Terrance Ferguson PFF Grade: 65.7
Colby Parkinson PFF Grade: 48.5
Tyler Higbee PFF Grade: 29.1

Offensive Line: C

The Rams should have had an advantage in the trenches and that just wasn’t the case. Kevin Dotson allowed five pressures. While they opened up some holes in the run game, the offensive line didn’t get enough push on the 4th-and-1 at the goal line to get Matthew Stafford in the end zone. More is expected from this group.

Steve Avila PFF Grade: 84.9
Coleman Shelton PFF Grade: 83.2
Alaric Jackson PFF Grade: 67.9
Kevin Dotson PFF Grade: 65.4
Warren McClendon PFF Grade: 62.7

Defensive Line: F

This group simply did not show up. Myles Garrett was completely nonexistent while Braden Fiske’s second-year struggles continued. Kobie Turner and Fiske were unable to get to the quarterback. They were also gashed in the run game in the second half, allowing the 49ers to set the tone. The performance from the defensive line may have been the most disappointing.

Josaiah Stewart PFF Grade: 75.9
Kobie Turner PFF Grade: 75.3
Myles Garrett PFF Grade: 69.4
Braden Fiske PFF Grade: 68.9
Byron Young PFF Grade: 58.0
Poona Ford PFF Grade: 43.1
Ty Davis PFF Grade: 35.9

Linebackers: D

While the defensive line needs to set the tone, the linebackers also have to do their jobs at the second level. Nate Landman and Shaun Dolac each had missed tackles. Additionally, Landman was exposed in coverage as the 49ers picked on him. He allowed seven receptions on eight targets in the passing game. This is the weak link of the Rams’ defense and they were exposed on Thursday.

Shuan Dolac PFF Grade: 60.7
Omar Speights PFF Grade: 58.7
Nate Landman PFF Grade: 50.3

Defensive Backs: C-

Outside of Quentin Lake’s interception, the secondary gave up too many key plays. Jaylen Watson allowed the touchdown to Mike Evans in the end zone. Kam Kinchens was in coverage on the deep touchdown to Demarcus Robinson, which swung momentum in the 49ers’ favor. The Rams invested heavily at cornerback this offseason and they need to do better.

Trent McDuffie PFF Grade: 83.4
Quentin Lake PFF Grade: 78.8
Kam Curl PFF Grade: 70.8
Jaylen Watson PFF Grade: 64.9
Jaylen McCollough PFF Grade; 52.1
Kam Kinchens PFF Grade: 41.0

Special Teams: C-

While the Rams’ special teams unit didn’t necessarily have a mistake that lost the game, they weren’t blameless either. Deebo Samuel opened the second half with a 45-yard return that led to a 49ers touchdown. Harrison Mevis made his lone extra point and two of Ethan Evans’ three punts landed inside the 20. However, this group still had an error that changed the game.

Coaches: F

This was simply not a well-coached game from Sean McVay and the coaching staff. The players didn’t look ready and that’s on McVay. Offensively, the play-calling seemed disjointed and a larger commitment to the run game may have helped get Matthew Stafford going early. The decision to go for it with a quarterback sneak can be questioned. Defensively, Chris Shula stuck to a zone game plan with cornerbacks who have had success in man coverage. Overall, it simply wasn’t good enough.

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