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Rams Week 4 report card: Grading every position vs. Cardinals

The Rams experienced a high after their win over the Buccaneers in Week 3, but it didn’t last long as they came crashing back down to earth on Sunday in their 37-20 loss to the Cardinals. They were very different performances from Sean McVay’s team, which is reflected in our Week 4 report card.

As you’d expect, the grades were lower this week after the Rams lost by 17 to the Cardinals. The offense struggled to move the ball and the defense couldn’t stop Kyler Murray.

Here’s how we graded each position group in Sunday’s defeat.

Quarterback: C+

Matthew Stafford made a few really good throws against the Cardinals, but for the most part, he struggled with accuracy. He threw a pick on a deep shot to DeSean Jackson, which was yet another underthrow to the speedy receiver, and also had two ugly incompletions along the goal line to Cooper Kupp.

He nearly had another interception but was bailed out by a roughing the passer penalty on Isaiah Simmons. It was just a subpar performance by Stafford all the way around, which he admitted himself.

Running back: B

Darrell Henderson Jr. ran the ball well against a bad Cardinals defense, getting a lot of help from his offensive linemen up front. He had big holes to run through and made the right reads behind the line, which led to a strong 89-yard day on only 14 attempts. He added 27 yards receiving on five catches, too, topping 100 yards on fewer than 20 touches.

What hurt the overall grade of the running backs group was Sony Michel’s costly fumble, which led directly to a touchdown by the Cardinals. Michel never touched the ball after that, but the damage was already done.

Wide receiver: C+

Cooper Kupp had an uncharacteristic drop on the opening drive and then had another pass go through his hands on a third-down play. He and Stafford were just off all afternoon, struggling to connect on several occasions.

Robert Woods had a late touchdown grab when the game was already out of reach but otherwise didn’t do much. Van Jefferson was the standout of the group with six catches for 90 yards and a score, looking like a reliable starter for the Rams at wideout. DeSean Jackson caught one pass for 6 yards on a play where it looked like he could’ve gotten more had he cut upfield, and was also the target on Stafford’s pick.

Tight end: B

Tyler Higbee was targeted six times in this one, catching four passes for 36 yards. He did have a drop, but both he and Johnny Mundt did a nice job blocking on the edge in both the passing and running games. Mundt wasn’t targeted but he’s been solid as the No. 2 tight end sealing off defenders when the Rams run to his side of the field.

Offensive line: B+

On the bright side, the Rams didn’t allow a single sack to the Cardinals – a team that has Chandler Jones and J.J. Watt. But on the other hand, they did allow 13 pressures and five hits on Stafford. It didn’t affect the quarterback too much as he still had time in the pocket, but Austin Corbett and Rob Havenstein on the right side were the biggest culprits of letting defenders near Stafford.

The offensive line was excellent in the running game, however. There were gaping holes for Henderson to run through, leading to a bunch of runs that gained at least 5 yards. Given the opponent, this was a pretty good performance from the line.

Defensive line: C+

Aaron Donald received a fair 74.4 grade from Pro Football Focus after generating just two pressures on Kyler Murray. He wasn’t much of a factor in the game and when he did get close to the quarterback, he missed a sack.

Sebastian Joseph-Day brought Murray down once after a well-disciplined rush, and A’Shawn Robinson made three run stops – one shy of Joseph-Day’s team-high four.

Inside linebacker: C-

Kenny Young finished with five tackles, including one for a loss. Other than that one play in the backfield, he was mostly a non-factor for the Rams. The same goes for Troy Reeder, who was replaced by Ernest Jones on a handful of plays.

The Rams struggled to contain Murray when he got to the edge and that’s partly because their linebackers allowed him to get outside.

Outside linebacker: B

Leonard Floyd probably deserved a better grade than the 50.3 he received from Pro Football Focus. He had a team-high five pressures and made two run stops, recording five total tackles with one sack. Terrell Lewis, who was the starter on the other side, also had a sack and a tackle for a loss, forcing one fumble, too.

Getting to Murray is always a tough task and the Rams’ edge rushers did it a couple times, even if the pressure wasn’t necessarily consistent from start to finish.

Cornerback: B-

Jalen Ramsey provided tight coverage against DeAndre Hopkins when the two were matched up, preventing two completions: one that would’ve gone for a big gain and another that could’ve been a touchdown. Darious Williams allowed catches on all three of his targets, but it was only for 26 total yards.

The biggest culprit was David Long Jr., who gave up 89 yards on five catches and didn’t prevent one completion in coverage. He did make six tackles but Long was clearly the weak link in the secondary.

Safety: B

Taylor Rapp led the team with 12 tackles, mostly lining up in the box and in the slot where he can make plays in the running game. Jordan Fuller was close behind with seven tackles, though Nick Scott didn’t make a single tackle in his 16 snaps played.

The safety group wasn’t terribly impactful, but there were also no glaring mistakes made by this unit.

Special teams: B-

Matt Gay finally missed his first field goal of the season, a 46-yard attempt in the second half. He did make a 42-yarder on the opening drive and a 22-yard chip shot later on. Johnny Hekker downed his one punt inside the 20-yard line and Tutu Atwell had a 4-yard punt return.

It’s hard to fault Gay for missing the 46-yarder, but it’s a kick he’s more than capable of making in that critical spot down 14 points.

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