Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams have generated pressure all season and finished almost none of it. Through six games they have eight sacks, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL, with Byron Young responsible for half of them. That number has to climb Sunday against a Las Vegas Raiders offense that put the ball in Kirk Cousins’ hands 41 times last week. It is one of several problems behind the Rams’ slow start, and an 18-16 home loss to Arizona dropped them to 2-4.
“We’ve had some really critical errors at really unfortunate times, but that’s what our narrative has been for this year,” McVay said after Sunday’s loss. “And we can’t keep saying that we haven’t done that before. Well, this year we are doing it, and so we have to be able to fix it. And it’s my job to do that.” Four fixes stand between the Rams and a win at Allegiant Stadium against a 3-3 team that has lost three straight.
Byron Young needs help finishing at the quarterback
Byron Young is doing his part. The fourth-year edge rusher has 29 pressures, sixth among 115 edge defenders, and leads the position with 22 hurries, according to PFF. PFF credits him with four sacks. Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske have none between them, and Aaron Donald is still looking for his first since coming out of retirement. We wrote last week that one of the NFL’s slowest triggers was waiting in Jacoby Brissett. The Rams didn’t sack him once.
The Rams pressure opposing quarterbacks on about 41% of dropbacks, sixth in the league, but turn just under 10% of those pressures into sacks, second-worst in the NFL, Bill Barnwell found. The league average is about 17%. With Myles Garrett still on injured reserve, Josaiah Stewart holding the edge job has to start converting too. Cousins threw for 313 yards and two touchdown passes in a 33-30 loss to Buffalo, with Tre Tucker catching five passes for 97 yards and two scores and Michael Mayer posting a career-high 95 receiving yards.
Alaric Jackson has to keep Maxx Crosby away from Matthew Stafford
Arizona sacked Matthew Stafford three times with 36-year-old David Quessenberry at left tackle, and Josh Sweat forced a fumble on a failed two-point try. Alaric Jackson is eligible to return after his suspension for punching Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb was cut to one game. Through five games, Jackson had a 76.4 PFF grade, 10th among 72 qualified tackles, and had allowed 12 pressures and one sack on 375 snaps.
He gets a hard first assignment back. Maxx Crosby has an 87.0 overall grade, fourth among 115 edge defenders, with 35 pressures (second) and 12 quarterback hits (third), per PFF. He has only three sacks, so the Raiders are living with some of the same finishing problem. Stafford can’t afford to hold the ball against him. Barnwell has his QBR on throws after four or more seconds at 2.8, 31st of 33 qualifiers, and he averaged 4.8 air yards per attempt Sunday while he missed a wide-open Puka Nacua on a deep shot.
Stop handing opponents free yards and extra possessions
Two penalties decided Sunday. A false start turned fourth-and-3 into fourth-and-8 late in the fourth quarter, and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call on Josh Wallace set up Chad Ryland’s 43-yard field goal as time expired. Arizona kicked six field goals and never scored a touchdown, which made it the first loss of the McVay era to a team that did not score a touchdown.
Turnovers are the other half of it. Stafford has six interceptions in six games after throwing eight all of last season, and four of them have come on deep throws, per Barnwell. Las Vegas entered Week 6 tied for the NFL lead with 10 takeaways, according to the team, so a turnover-prone afternoon is exactly how a 2-4 team loses to a defense that ranks 27th in yards allowed.
Kyren Williams needs more than 13 touches
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Kyren Williams ran 10 times for 50 yards against Arizona and finished with a season-low 13 touches. The Rams ran just 56 offensive plays to the Cardinals’ 70. Asked why the offense’s energy came and went, Williams said “Probably because I’m not out there,” per ESPN, a comment we covered as a swipe at his shrinking role.
Las Vegas entered Week 6 allowing 140.6 rushing yards per game, 28th in the league, and James Cook then ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against it. The Rams have just one run of 20 or more yards all season after 11 last year. Feeding Williams also keeps Stafford away from the long-yardage downs where Crosby does his damage.
None of it gets easier on special teams, where Blake Grupe hurt his knee in his Rams debut and punter Ethan Evans finished Sunday’s game as the kicker. Four games remain before the Week 11 bye, and the Chargers come to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood next.
More on the Los Angeles Rams
- Tyreek Hill Nears a Return From Knee Injury, Per Drew Rosenhaus, as Rams Lose Davante Adams
- Matthew Stafford’s Wife Reacts to Erin Andrews’ Physical Appearance
- ESPN NFL Analyst Points Out What’s Wrong With Matthew Stafford
- Los Angeles Rams Make Kicker Move After Blake Grupe News
