Studs and duds from Rams' Week 4 loss to Cardinals

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Studs and duds from Rams' Week 4 loss to Cardinals


Cameron DaSilva
October 3, 2021 6:55 pm PT

It’s hard to find many positives from a 17-point loss to a division foe, especially with the Rams coming off a statement win over the Buccaneers in Week 3. Their performance against the Cardinals was disappointing in every way, struggling to move the ball on offense and to stop Kyler Murray when the defense took the field.

But there were a few players who stood out in a positive way, with others struggling to make an impact in the loss. Here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s game, a 37-20 loss by the Rams.

Stud: Jalen Ramsey
There weren’t many bright spots on defense, but Ramsey played a great game against the Cardinals. He broke up a throw to DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone and had another deflection on a deep throw to the All-Pro wideout, allowing very little in his area throughout the afternoon.

He didn’t shadow Hopkins the way many fans hoped he would, primarily lining up in the slot again, but he was disruptive no matter where he lines up. He finished with five tackles (one for a loss) and two pass breakups.


Stud: Darrell Henderson Jr.
Henderson showed no ill effects from his rib injury, returning to the field on Sunday after missing one game. He rushed 14 times for 89 yards, breaking off three runs of at least 11 yards. He was consistently picking up chunk yardage no matter when he touched the ball, whether it was as a runner or receiver; he caught five passes for 27 yards. This offense is better when he’s out there, which was very clear on Sunday.


Stud: Van Jefferson
Stafford was a perfect 6-for-6 when targeting Jefferson, gaining 90 yards with a touchdown. Jefferson was getting open for his quarterback and made a couple of nice grabs, including a 22-yarder on third down over the middle. He deserves to be more involved and get increased opportunities on offense.


Dud: David Long Jr.
Long was exposed quite a bit against the Cardinals. A.J. Green gave him a ton of trouble, catching five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 41-yard bomb where Long was also called for defensive holding. Hopefully this was an outlier of a performance from the young cornerback, but Kyler Murray picked on Long and had success doing it.

Dud: Matthew Stafford
Stafford’s numbers don’t look all that bad (280 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), but he padded his stats in garbage time when the game was out of reach. If you watched the game, you’d know he wasn’t sharp whatsoever and missed a handful of throws that he typically makes. His receivers weren’t much help – Cooper Kupp dropped a pass and Tyler Higbee couldn’t come down with a low touchdown grab in the fourth quarter – but Stafford needs to play better than he did against Arizona. He was fortunate to not have a second interception, which was negated by a penalty.

Dud: Sony Michel
Michel got two early carries and picked up 11 yards on back-to-back plays. On the next drive, he took the first handoff and put the ball on the ground, which was the end of his afternoon. He didn’t run the ball one more time after that fumble, which led to seven quick points by the Cardinals and a 21-10 lead in the second quarter. It was a costly mistake by the former Patriots running back.

Dud: Sean McVay
McVay admitted he needs to be better for his team, and that’s not something we’re going to argue. Between his decision to put on fourth-and-3 and the 46-yard field goal attempt instead of going for it on fourth-and-4, he played it far to safe against an explosive offense that couldn’t be stopped.

His play call on fourth-and-goal where Stafford threw to the flat for Higbee on an incredibly difficult throw was questionable, too, as was the fact that Henderson was still getting carries in garbage time coming off a rib injury.

McVay has always been conservative but with the defense playing poorly and the Rams trailing for most of the game, he needed to push the envelope a bit more today.