6 takeaways from Rams 38-11 win vs Giants…

6 takeaways from Rams' 38-11 win vs. Giants

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

The Rams came into Week 6 heavily favored over the Giants, who had just one win this season. They were fully expected to win this game, but not necessarily everyone expected them to win by 27 points the way they did on Sunday.

Los Angeles left East Rutherford with a 38-11 win and a 5-1 record, dominating in every facet of the game. Matthew Stafford was sharp once again, the running game picked up more than 120 yards and Cooper Kupp went off for 130 yards and two more touchdowns.

Here’s what we learned from their Week 6 win over New York.

1

Rams are blowing out bad teams

The Rams haven’t had the easiest schedule through six weeks, which makes their 5-1 start all the more impressive. Even better, they’ve been blowing out their opponents. They beat the Bears by 20, the Seahawks by nine and now the Giants by 27, crushing the teams that they should.

They also beat the Buccaneers by 10, which was by far their top win of the year so far. So while they’ve benefited from facing the Bears, Colts, Seahawks and Giants, their average margin of victory is almost nine points. Good teams beat bad teams by wide margins, and that’s exactly what the Rams are doing right now.

2

Okoronkwo and Lewis are stepping up big

Losing Justin Hollins for 8-10 weeks was a major blow to the defense. However, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Terrell Lewis have stepped up opposite Leonard Floyd. They each had a sack against the Giants, with Okoronkwo forcing a fumble that Floyd recovered and helped set up a touchdown by the offense.

Without Lewis and Okoronkwo, the defense wouldn’t be playing as well as it has been. In the last two weeks, they’ve only allowed 28 points, a better trend than the previous three weeks.

3

Long has fallen out of favor in L.A.

Not only did Terrell Burgess get the start at nickel over David Long Jr., but Dont’e Deayon got snaps ahead of him, too. Long has clearly been demoted pretty far down the depth chart, playing behind Deayon, who was just promoted from the practice squad for the first time this week.

He struggled against the Cardinals and then was benched against the Seahawks, and he’s unlikely to retake his starting role over Robert Rochell and either Burgess or Deayon in the near future.

4

Offense finally gets a break from long TD drives

In the first five weeks of the season, the Rams didn’t have a single touchdown drive of less than 70 yards. Against the Giants, they had four possessions of less than 70 yards that went for touchdowns, including drives of 12, 14 and 49 yards. That was a nice break from the lengthy drives they had to sustain in the previous five weeks, which is a big reason they scored a season-high 38 points.

The Rams were averaging the fourth-most yards per drive and fifth-most points, so they were moving the ball. They just weren’t benefiting from short fields because of the lack of takeaways on the opponents’ side.

5

Backfield tandem is working as planned

There’s no doubt about who the top running back is for the Rams. Henderson still maintains that title, rushing 21 times for 78 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. But Sony Michel has also been productive, gaining 42 yards on nine carries against the Giants – and not all of those yards were in garbage time, either.

A 21-9 split is probably an ideal scenario for the Rams, but not one that should be expected every week. Running the ball 30 times doesn’t happen often, but the ground game is working right now when both players are carrying the ball.

It’s good to see the Rams have some flexibility when it comes to using both Henderson and Michel, plugging them in almost interchangeably.

6

Aggressiveness on fourth down pays off

McVay has been conservative on fourth down throughout his tenure as the Rams’ head coach, almost to the point of frustration. But on Sunday against the Giants, he showed some welcomed aggressiveness on fourth down. Not only did the Rams attempt a fake punt that would’ve gone for a first down if not for offsetting penalties, but he also went for it twice on fourth down – one of which was a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kupp.

The Rams also converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard run by Henderson, setting up their fifth touchdown of the day a few plays later to take a 38-3 lead. It was encouraging to see McVay get aggressive in key spots, especially when both conversions led to touchdowns.