6 takeaways from Rams’ 24-10 win over Panthers
The Los Angeles Rams were able to come away with a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 6. The Rams improve to 3-3 on the season after ending a two-game losing streak with consecutive losses to the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.
It was a game that Los Angeles was expected to win as Carolina had an interim head coach, backup quarterback, and injuries to some notable players. Meanwhile, the Rams have dealt with countless injuries on both sides of the ball to begin the season.
After bouncing back in Week 6, here are our immediate takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Panthers.
The offensive line continues to be plagued by injuries
The Rams just can’t seem to go one week without suffering an injury to a member of their offensive line. In the first half of Sunday’s matchup with the Panthers, Joe Noteboom was carted off the field with an ankle injury and he was ruled out not long after.
Since the beginning of the season, Los Angeles has endured injuries to Noteboom, Brian Allen, David Edwards, Coleman Shelton, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. Allen, Edwards, Shelton, and Anchrum have all spent time on injured reserve while Anchrum is the only one ruled out for the season thus far.
If the Rams want to see improvements on the offensive side of the ball, they’ll need to make some moves in the trenches or get some guys healthy during the bye week in Week 7.
The run game was still lackluster
The Rams ruled out Cam Akers for Sunday’s showdown with the Panthers due to personal reasons and it was revealed that the team is fielding trade offers for the former second-round pick. The Florida State product had a rough start to the season and it appears both sides are looking for a fresh start.
Darrell Henderson got the start in Week 6 and the run game was still lackluster against Carolina’s No. 16 ranked defense in rush DVOA. The injuries along the offensive line are certainly limiting how effective the run game can be right now.
While Henderson has been the most explosive running back for the Rams this season, the team could be looking to add someone else to the backfield between now and the trade deadline.
Matthew Stafford needs to take better care of the football
Let me preface this by saying that Matthew Stafford is not even close to the biggest issue for the Rams to begin the season. The offensive line is ravaged by injuries, the run game has been ineffective, and there hasn’t been consistent production from anyone outside of Cooper Kupp.
All that being said, the veteran signal-caller leads the league with eight interceptions with another pick-six on Sunday while he’s also lost three fumbles. After tying for the league lead in interceptions with 17 a season ago, Stafford is on track to lead the league in interceptions again in 2022.
Luckily for Stafford, he’ll have a bye week in Week 7 to clean up his mistakes. Even though he’s been under duress, the strong-armed quarterback will unquestionably need to avoid turning the ball over in a Week 8 rematch versus the 49ers.
Allen Robinson finally looked effective in the offense
Could Sunday’s performance be a breakout outing for Allen Robinson? The veteran wideout posted season-highs in receptions (5), receiving yards (63), and one touchdown on six targets in the Week 6 victory over the Panthers.
Robinson was unable to be consistently involved in the offense in the first five weeks with a combined 12 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown on 23 targets. Considering how he looked in the offense in the first five weeks, Sunday was the best that Robinson and Stafford looked together.
While there’s still plenty of work to go, hopefully Robinson’s performance in Week 6 is a common occurrence following the team’s bye week in Week 7.
The edge rushers continue to give little to no production
The defense continues to be a bright spot for the Rams this season, though, they’ve been unable to get consistent pressure from anyone not named Aaron Donald. More specifically, the edge rushers for the Rams have not generated much pressure this season and Sunday’s game wasn’t much different.
Entering Week 6, Los Angeles had only two total sacks from its edge rushers, getting one each from Terrell Lewis and Justin Hollins. Leonard Floyd has gone six straight games to begin the season without a sack and the Rams don’t have many other options right now.
Jalen Ramsey recorded his second sack of the season (second of his career) on Sunday, which is just as many as all the edge rushers on the Rams have combined thus far. Los Angeles could be aggressive in making a move for an edge rusher soon.
The Rams struggled to slow down Christian McCaffrey
Not that it matters much because the Rams won, but the defense failed to contain Christian McCaffrey on Sunday. The All-Pro running back rushed for 69 yards on 13 attempts while registering seven receptions for 89 yards, including a 49-yard reception late in the fourth quarter.
Considering that the Panthers had a backup quarterback starting, and McCaffrey was clearly going to be the focal point of the offense, it wasn’t ideal to see the defense fail to slow him down. The positive news is that McCaffrey had 158 of the 203 yards that Carolina had as a team, so the defense still performed well in Week 6.
It would be fantastic for the Rams to get some of their defensive backs healthy over the bye week in Week 7 ahead of a pivotal rematch against the 49ers in Week 8.
