Studs and duds from Rams week 1 win…

Studs and duds from Rams' Week 1 win: Ramsey and Stafford shine vs. Bears

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

For the fifth year in a row, the Rams came away with a win in the season opener. They blew out the Bears at home on Sunday night, winning 34-14 in Week 1.

The game was close in the third quarter, but Los Angeles led from start to finish, never relinquishing the lead to Andy Dalton and the Bears. The Rams got key contributions from both sides of the ball, led by Matthew Stafford on offense and Jalen Ramsey on defense.

Here are our studs and duds from the season opener.

Stud: Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey came out looking like an All-Pro on Sunday night, picking up right where he left off last year. He had two tackles for a loss in the first half alone, with another assisted stop behind the scrimmage being credited to Troy Reeder.

Ramsey also had a pass breakup on fourth down to get the ball back for the offense, seemingly getting involved in every play out of the gate. He finished with nine tackles, which is almost twice as many as he had in any game last season. The Bears were willing to attack him both in the passing game and on the ground, and Ramsey stepped up each and every time. He was near-perfect on Sunday night.

Stud: Matthew Stafford

Stafford was as advertised in his Rams debut on Sunday night, making play after play from start to finish. His second pass of the game was a 67-yard touchdown to Van Jefferson, but he also had completions of 37 yards, 56 yards and spread the ball around to six different receivers.

Although both of his long touchdowns were the result of busted coverages by the Bears, they were still accurate throws to hit the receivers in stride. He looked comfortable in Sean McVay’s offense and while there are kinks to work out with his wideouts – like Robert Woods stopping his route in the red zone when Stafford thought he’d continue it – the Rams offense was efficient and explosive despite not getting much from the ground game until the fourth quarter.

Stafford finished with 321 yards and three touchdowns, committing zero turnovers in his debut.

Stud: David Long Jr.

When the Bears got the ball to start the game, they quickly drove down the field and got the ball into the red zone. And just when it seemed they would take an early lead, David Long Jr. stepped in and thwarted Chicago’s attempt to score points.

He picked off Andy Dalton in the end zone after Kenny Young tipped the pass, making a nice play to keep the score 0-0. Long also broke up another pass and made a bunch of strong tackles on the outside to limit yardage after the catch, an excellent 2021 debut for the young cornerback.

Stud: Cooper Kupp

Kupp made plays all over the field, from his deep 56-yard touchdown grab to his nifty 15-yard reception on a third-and-13 screen pass where he broke several tackles to pick up the first down. He topped 100 yards in his first game with Stafford, proving to be a reliable target for his new quarterback.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding DeSean Jackson and Van Jefferson in this offense as the third option, but Kupp will remain a playmaker all season long in the middle of the field for Stafford. This connection should only get better as time goes on.

Stud: Justin Hollins

Hollins was the Rams’ best edge rusher on Sunday night, performing better than Leonard Floyd on the other side. He didn’t come off the field much, either, which is a good sign. He had two sacks to go along with one QB hit, a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and eight total tackles.

He can still get better, too, which will be huge for this defensive front. A pass-rush trio of Hollins, Floyd and Aaron Donald is more than formidable and will help the secondary continue to make plays on the ball.

Stud: Rob Havenstein

You probably didn’t hear Khalil Mack’s name called much on Sunday night, which is all thanks to Havenstein. He got some help with the Bears’ top pass rusher when the Rams aligned tight ends close to the formation, but for the most part, Havenstein was tasked with blocking him alone.

Mack finished with only one assisted tackle and zero quarterback hits, which goes to show the job Havenstein did on him. It was an impressive performance from the Rams’ right tackle.

Dud: Run defense

The Rams’ run defense was not very good on Sunday night and it’s tough to pin it on one or two players. They gave up 134 yards on the ground, including a 41-yarder by David Montgomery in the first quarter. Montgomery had 108 yards himself, as well as a touchdown, consistently gaining good yardage – whether it was up the middle or off tackle.

This was the weaker part of the Rams’ defense last season, and it looks to be the case once again this year. If the run defense can improve and not lag behind the secondary and pass defense, teams will struggle to move the ball on the Rams.