Rams Report Card: Grading Every Position Group vs the Saints...

Rams report card: Grading every position vs. Saints in NFC championship

Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

The Los Angeles Rams are a little more than a week away from Super Bowl LIII, but without some strong performances from a bunch of position groups – the referees not included – they wouldn’t be in this position. The Rams were great in all three phases of the game against the Saints, which is the primary reason they’re going to Atlanta.

Here’s our report card from the conference championship, grading each and every position from quarterback to special teams.

Quarterback

Jared Goff wasn’t perfect in this game, but he was a big reason the Rams won. Down the stretch, he repeatedly made clutch throws, whether it was the two to Tyler Higbee in overtime or the 39-yarder to Gerald Everett after escaping the pocket.

The interception wasn’t on him, either, considering it was a clear drop by Todd Gurley. Goff made very few mistakes or poor throws against the Saints despite the crowd noise and a relentless pass rush.

Grade: A-

Running back

After running all over the Cowboys, the Rams’ running backs went cold in New Orleans. C.J. Anderson and Gurley combined for just 54 yards rushing on 20 carries. Gurley was especially bad in this one, dropping two easy passes that resulted in an interception and a failed third-down conversion.

Where they were good, however, was in pass protection. That boosted their grade slightly, though not enough to make this a strong performance. The Rams will need Gurley to step up against the Patriots to balance out the offense.

Grade: C

Wide receiver

Brandin Cooks and Josh Reynolds came up huge for Goff and the offense against the Saints, especially Cooks. He caught seven passes for 107 yards, including a 36-yarder down the left sideline to set up Gurley’s touchdown. Reynolds had 74 yards of his own, while also adding a 16-yard carry to provide a spark for the offense.

Robert Woods didn’t have his usual 60 yards, but he did catch six of 10 targets for 33 yards, which included a 16-yarder over the middle in the fourth quarter. He was his usual reliable self, he just didn’t have any long receptions.

Grade: A-

Tight end

This may have been the best performance by the Rams’ tight ends in the last two years. Higbee wasn’t just great as a blocker, but he also contributed as a receiver with a touchdown in the first half and two catches in overtime. He finished with four grabs for 25 yards, catching every pass that came his way. Everett had two receptions for 50 yards, highlighted by a great 39-yard catch-and-run after Goff escaped the pocket.

Grade: A-

Offensive line

Goff was only sacked once and while he was hit six times, the pressure didn’t rattle him. The offensive line provided great protection, especially on the left side with Andrew Whitworth and Rodger Saffold.

The running lanes weren’t as big as they were against the Cowboys, but the Saints have a stout defensive front and very rarely are holes gaping against the group. As a whole, it was a great performance from the line in a hostile environment that made communication difficult.

Grade: A-

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Defensive line

Any time you can hold Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram to 46 yards rushing combined, it’s a successful day for the defensive line. Ndamukong Suh was a star yet again on Sunday, making four tackles, 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits. Aaron Donald only made two tackles, but they both went for a loss and he also added three quarterback hits.

Michael Brockers jumping offsides on fourth down was a critical mistake, but he had a key batted pass late in the game to somewhat make up for it.

Grade: A

Inside linebacker

Mark Barron and Cory Littleton never came off the field in the NFC championship and for good reason. They put together a great game against two talented running backs in Kamara and Ingram, who are difficult to stop for even the best linebackers.

Littleton had some trouble covering Kamara out of the backfield and was slightly out of position on Michael Thomas’ crosser against Marcus Peters, but other than that, he was rock solid. Barron had one of his best games of the season, making nine tackles, many of which were in space against the shifty Kamara.

Grade: B+

Outside linebacker

Dante Fowler Jr. laid the hit on Drew Brees that led to John Johnson’s interception in overtime, but that wasn’t his only great play. He had five tackles, a half-sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss, applying pressure on Brees throughout the game.

Samson Ebukam barely played so he wasn’t impactful, but Fowler more than made up for it with a dominant showing, mostly against Ryan Ramczyk.

Grade: B+

Cornerback

Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters provided excellent coverage on Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr. with the latter leading all Saints wideouts in receiving (58 yards). Talib was out of position on Josh Hill’s long screen pass from Brees, but he was physical and provided great support in run support otherwise.

Nickell Robey-Coleman was the star of the game, and not just because he got away with the biggest officiating whiff in recent memory. He had two pass breakups and was in the hip pocket of the Saints’ slot receivers.

Grade: A-

Safety

Lamarcus Joyner was nearly the goat of the game after allowing Ginn to catch what should’ve been an easy pass deflection. He simply hasn’t been very good this season and that trend continued on Sunday. John Johnson, on the other hand, has been great in Year 2 and made a game-saving interception in overtime. He’s a key piece of the defense no matter where he lines up.

Grade: B

Special teams

Greg Zuerlein and Johnny Hekker. Need we say more? Zuerlein hit from 48 and 57 yards on his last two kicks, while Hekker pulled off yet another fake punt to perfection, preventing the game from getting out of hand. Without these two, the Rams aren’t in the Super Bowl.

Grade: A+