Rams Week 9 report card: Grading every position vs. Titans

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Rams Week 9 report card: Grading every position vs. Titans


Cameron DaSilva
November 9, 2021 9:51 am PT
The Rams were upset by the Titans on Sunday night, their second loss of the season to drop their record to 7-2. The offense struggled for most of the game, not scoring a touchdown until the final seconds.

Matthew Stafford threw two picks to help the Titans score 14 quick points in a snap of about 15 seconds, and though the defense held Tennesse to 197 yards, the Rams were unable to pull out the win at home.


In evaluating the team’s performance, it was fairly one-sided from an offensive and defensive perspective. One group did its job well, while the other struggled to carry its weight.

Here’s our Week 9 report card.

Quarterback: D+
There’s no way around it, Matthew Stafford played poorly against the Titans. His two interceptions gave Tennessee 14 points on a silver platter, quickly flipping the momentum after the Rams were leading 3-0. Had he not thrown those picks, the Rams very likely would’ve won this game, even with their inefficiency on offense.

The Titans’ coverage was good, but there were also times when Stafford held the ball too long and should’ve gotten rid of it sooner – something he admitted himself after the game.


Running back: B-
The Rams were running the ball fairly well. Darrell Henderson Jr. rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries and Sony Michel gained 20 yards on his seven attempts. Sean McVay felt he had to abandon the run because the score got so lopsided, but the ground game was effective when Henderson got the ball.


Wide receiver: B
Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods were both productive against the Titans, but as a whole, there wasn’t anything spectacular that came from the receiver group. Kupp caught 11 passes for 95 yards, Woods racked up 98 yards on seven catches and Van Jefferson caught three of his seven targets for 41 yards.

Jefferson’s drop on a perfect deep ball from Stafford hurt, though he did make a nice move after the catch earlier to pick up 20 yards.

Tight end: B-
Tyler Higbee was the only tight end to meaningfully contribute on Sunday night playing all but two snaps against the Titans. He was targeted a season-high 10 times, catching five passes for 51 yards. He wasn’t asked to stay in and block much when the Rams threw the ball but he did perform well as a run blocker on the few times they kept it on the ground.

Offensive line: C-
The Rams had allowed just eight sacks all season prior to Sunday night against the Titans, doing an excellent job protecting Stafford. But Tennessee got to the quarterback for five sacks and pressured him 15 times, disrupting the flow of the Rams offense several times.

Brian Allen, Rob Havenstein and Austin Corbett each allowed four pressures, while David Edwards allowed three, too. Andrew Whitworth was the lone bright spot, allowing zero pressures or hits in the entire game. The Titans’ pass rush was simply too much for the Rams’ blockers.

Defensive line: B+
Without Sebastian Joseph-Day available, the Rams needed A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines to step up on the defensive line. They did just that, both playing well against the Titans. Robinson had four stops and one pressure, earning a PFF grade of 90.4. Gaines played all but one snap in place of Joseph-Day at nose tackle, recording one stop, a half-sack and two pressures from the interior.

Aaron Donald was the star of the defensive line once again, of course, with three pressures, a sack and three stops. He won a bunch of his matchups with Rodger Saffold, looking as quick and powerful as always.

Inside linebacker: C+
Troy Reeder and Ernest Jones are the only linebackers contributing for the Rams right now after they traded Kenny Young to the Broncos and with Travin Howard landing on injured reserve. Reeder missed one tackle and only allowed 7 yards in coverage, but Jones gave up three catches for 16 yards on three targets.

It wasn’t a bad game from the inside linebackers, but it also wasn’t a standout one, either.

Outside linebacker: B+
Leonard Floyd continues to have a really good second season with the Rams, recording another three pressures and three stops against the Titans, getting home for a sack with five total tackles, too. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo was a real standout with three pressures on only 10 pass-rush opportunities, also splitting a sack.

Terrell Lewis had three sacks and one run stop, though he did commit a neutral zone infraction on third-and-9 to give the Titans a better chance to convert.

Cornerback: B-
Jalen Ramsey was great against the Titans, picking off one pass and allowing three catches for 20 yards on five targets. He also made an outstanding tackle for a loss on an end-around, one of two solo stops from the All-Pro cornerback.

Dont’e Deayon, Darious Williams and Robert Rochell were all just OK, though. Williams didn’t force an incompletion on three targets, allowing 36 yards in coverage.

Safety: B
As the season goes on, Jordan Fuller continues to get better. He earned an 87.7 overall grade from PFF, making three stops and a team-high seven total tackles. He broke up a pass, as well, putting together arguably his best game of the year.

Taylor Rapp made four tackles but he also allowed catches on both of his targets, including 15 yards after the catch. Nick Scott played 10 snaps but didn’t have a tackle or pass breakup.

Special teams: B-
Matt Gay has been a real bright spot all year, making three more field goals on Sunday night – including a long of 54 yards. Johnny Hekker averaged 49.8 yards per punt but didn’t down any of his four punts inside the 20, with one of them going for a touchback.

In the return game, the Rams are still searching for a decent solution. J.J. Koski had a 7-yard return on a bounding ball, but there have been no impact plays by the Rams’ return specialists this season.