Studs and duds from Rams’ blowout win vs. Giants
It’s hard to have any complaints about a team that wins 38-11, which was the final score of the Rams’ victory over the Giants on Sunday afternoon. They dominated on both sides of the ball, allowing only 261 yards and forcing four turnovers. The offense wasn’t sharp in the beginning, but after they settled in, they scored 38 unanswered points and gained 365 total yards.
Unsurprisingly, there were far more studs than duds this week, with the offense earning most of the praise for the victory over New York.
Stud: Matthew Stafford
Stafford was on the money today. He only threw six incompletions and his only interception was a pass that went off Cooper Kupp’s hands right before halftime as the Rams tried to sneak in one more score before the break. He threw four touchdown passes, had 251 yards and a passer rating of 128.7, continuing his MVP-caliber start to the season. One of his touchdown passes was a no-look throw to Kupp, too, the cherry on top of a near-perfect performance by the Rams quarterback.
Stud: Darrell Henderson Jr.
Henderson topped 100 yards from scrimmage for the second time this season, rushing for 78 and adding 29 receiving. He scored two touchdowns and looked elusive in the hole, at one point making two Giants defenders miss with a filthy cut up the middle. Sony Michel looked good in this one, too, but Henderson is still very clearly the best running back on the team.
Stud: Taylor Rapp
Rapp had not been playing particularly well up to this point but he recorded his first and second interceptions of the season against the Giants. Neither one was cheap either, lurking underneath to pick off Daniel Jones each time.
Rapp did an excellent job reading the quarterback and making a play on the ball, almost baiting Jones into making those two bad throws. He almost had another interception earlier in the game, too, but he was unable to keep it off the turf.
Studs: Pass rushers
It would be unfair to single out any individual pass rushers because the whole group was impactful against the Giants. Leonard Floyd had 1.5 sacks, Terrell Lewis sacked Daniel Jones once, Aaron Donald had a half-sack and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo’s strip-sack in the second quarter was a huge play in the game.
In total, seven players landed hits on Jones and he was sacked four times. The Giants’ offensive line was a mess, to be fair, but the Rams’ pass rush made a big difference on Sunday.
Stud: Cooper Kupp
Kupp has become the most consistent and productive receiver in the league this season. He caught nine of his 12 targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns, his third 100-yard game of the season and his fifth with at least seven catches for 90 yards. He did have one pass go off his hands for an interception, but other than that, he made several big plays on offense, including a 30-yarder in the first half.
Dud: Robert Rochell
Rochell’s afternoon got off to a poor start. He was beat by Kadarius Toney on third-and-14, allowing a conversion by the Giants. Then on the same drive, he whiffed on a tackle after Toney made a catch in the flat, which went for a 16-yard gain on second-and-7. He settled in later and intercepted Jones after Sterling Shepard fell at the top of his route, but there’s still plenty of room for the rookie corner to improve.
Duds: Officials
This was one of the worst officiated games of the season, and not just for the Rams. Van Jefferson was called for a phantom block above the waist penalty on Darrell Henderson Jr.’s 22-yard run, a very questionable call. Rochell was initially called for pass interference in the end zone, but the officials conversed and decided it was (rightly) an uncatchable pass. And on the Rams’ fake punt attempt, there were offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, though no players were announced as committing the fouls. Sean McVay even called it a “head scratcher” after the game, opting not to go into detail for fear of getting fined.
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