Key takeaways from Rams’ thrilling win over Chiefs...

Key takeaways from the Rams' thrilling win over the Chiefs

Andrew Ortenberg

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

It’s finally over. Surprisingly, there are no more points to be scored and the Los Angeles Rams held on for a thrilling 54-51 victory over the Chiefs. It was back and forth the entire way, but the Rams made plays when it mattered most.

So much happened in the game that it’s difficult to compress down, but here are the main takeaways from the game:

1. Aaron Donald is the best player in the league


Aaron Donald isn’t just the best defensive player in the league. He’s the best player in the league. It could realistically be argued that the Rams could’ve won the game with a different quarterback. That’s not to say Jared Goff wasn’t great, but you could make the argument. Without Donald, the Rams don’t win that game and it would be impossible to argue otherwise.

Replace Donald with even a very good defensive lineman – even another All-Pro – and the Rams don’t win this game. Donald was dominant, and single-handedly helped put 14 points on the board. He did all this while being held virtually the entire night, and made life miserable for Chiefs guard Cameron Erving.

Donald is well on his way to winning a second straight Defensive Player of the Year Award, and if it weren’t for the incredible years a few quarterbacks are having, would be right in the thick of the MVP race.

2. The rest of the defensive front showed up too


For the first time in a while, Donald wasn’t alone in making plays on the defensive front. While the secondary was pretty atrocious most of the night, the other linemen and linebackers made plays at several key points.

Second-year player Samson Ebukam, someone that fans have been waiting on to step up seemingly all season, had two touchdowns. He showed off remarkable ball skills, tracking down the football for a scoop-and-score, and also displayed great focus to corral the ball on his interception return touchdown. It was a very encouraging game and hopefully will give Ebukam some much-needed confidence moving forward.

John Franklin-Myers also had a nice fumble recovery, wisely falling on top of the ball after just about everybody else on the field tried and failed to pick it up. It was a great game for the young Rams pass rushers, and they’ll need to keep it up moving forward.

3. The tight ends can’t be stopped


OK, that might be a bit hyperbolic, but the tight ends just keep on getting better. In wake of Cooper Kupp’s torn ACL, we broke down how the Rams were going to need the tight ends to step up, and they did … big time.

Both Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett set season-highs in yardage, and Everett scored two touchdowns. Not only that, but Everett scored the game-winning touchdown on a play where it took incredible balance for him to walk the tightrope along the sideline and stay in-bounds. Even without Kupp, this offense can be better than it ever has been if it can get consistent production from the tight ends, and tonight was a massive step in the right direction.

Guarding tight ends was a weakness for the Chiefs coming in, which Sean McVay obviously realized and exploited it. Higbee’s six catches were a career-high – he never had more than four receptions in a game entering Monday – and his 63 yards were the second-most of his career. This should be a nice confidence boost for both players and they, along with Josh Reynolds, will need to continue this level of play with Kupp lost for the season.