The 3-2 Los Angeles Rams traveled to Detroit to play the 2-3 Lions in Week 6. The Lions were coming off a 24-23 victory against the undefeated Eagles in Week 5 while the Rams were coming off a 30-19 defeat to the Bills. The Rams lost to the Lions 31-28 in a shootout. The game ended when Case Keenum threw an interception with 1:09 left in the game. With this loss the Rams fall to 3-3 with 2 straight losses & are now 2nd in the NFC West.
Positives:
- Good QB play. This might’ve been Case Keenum’s best game of the season but it comes in a loss so it doesn’t mean much. Besides the late interception Keenun threw for 321 yards & 2 touchdowns. Keenum’s been very inconsistent this season & has continually made mistakes in inopportune times. In this game he showed some good things that hopefully stick in the future but knowing Keenum I’m not going to get my hopes up because he has a lot of moments where he looks like a QB that shouldn’t be a starter.
- Continued use of Gurley in the passing game. The Rams the past few weeks have made it a point to get Todd Gurley more involved in the passing game & it continued in Week 6. In Week 4 against Arizona Gurley had 5 catches for 49 yards, Week 5 he had 3 catches for 36 yards & in Week 6 he had 4 catches for 39 yards. This is good because the Rams should find any way to get him the ball to make plays & I believe this could make the offense more dynamic.
- Good run defense. The Rams were able to shut down the Lions run game in this game. The Lions don’t have much of a running game especially with Ameer Abdullah out & Theo Riddick being out in this game but it was nice to see the Rams slow down the run game still. The Lions finished the game with 83 yards on 26 carries for a 3.2 yards per carry average.
- Kenny Britt. Britt has quietly been one of the most consistent WRs in the NFL this season. In Week 6 Britt had his best week of the season getting 7 catches for 136 yards & 2 touchdowns. After Week 6 Britt is currently the 9th leading receiver in yards with 492 yards on 30 catches. He is also 12th in the NFL with 82 yards per game. Britt has had at least 4 catches in every game so far & has had at least 67 yards receiving in 5 of the 6 games the Rams have played this season. Hopefully Kenny Britt can keep up his consistent play the rest of the season.
Negatives:
- Struggles in the running game once again. The Rams have failed to get Todd Gurley a 100 yard rushing game this season & in this game he finished with just 58. The Rams as a team had just 76 yards on 22 carries for a 3.5 yards per carry average. The passing game was actually pretty good in this game so it was weird to see the running game struggle still. I don’t know what the problem has been in the running game for the Rams whether it be the offensive line or something else but with Todd Gurley toting the rock the Rams should be having more success at running the ball.
- Lack of QB pressure. I know Robert Quinn was out for a 2nd straight week but the Rams should still be able to create pressure with the personnel they have. Aaron Donald had a nice game with 1 sack & 2 QB hits but besides him there was 0 sacks & 2 QB hits for the Rams defense. Stafford finished with 270 yards & 4 touchdowns & one of the reasons is because he had some time to throw the ball without being pressured.
- Late interception by Case Keenum. The Rams had a chance to either tie or win this game having the ball with 1:29 left in the game. Case Keenum first completed a 4 yard pass to Brian Quick to start the drive but the 2nd play Keenum threw a pass that was intended for Lance Kendricks in triple coverage but was intercepted with 1:09 left by Rafael Bush which officially ended the game. It seems like Keenum continually makes mistakes every week that come close to costing the Rams a win or does cost the Rams a win. If Keenum continues to make inexcusable mistakes I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Jared Goff starting at QB after the Rams Week 8 bye.
- Pass coverage. Rams were without their starting CB in Trumaine Johnson against the Lions & the Rams seemed to miss him in this game. It seemed like the Lions continually had open guys for Stafford to throw to in this game. Golden Tate was able to end his streak of bad games with 8 catches for 165 yards & a touchdown against the Rams secondary. Trumaine Johnson was said to be week to week before this game so he could possibly be out another week especially with the Rams playing in London on Sunday so it’s a 9:30 EST time kickoff instead of the usual 1:00 or 4:00 kickoff.
Moving Forward:
The Los Angeles Rams will be traveling to London to play the New York Giants at Twickenham Stadium in Week 7. The New York Giants are coming off a 27-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Odell Beckham Jr. had his best game by far this season in this game with 8 catches for 222 yards & 2 touchdowns. If Trumaine Johnson is out another week Odell Beckham Jr. might be in for another huge week. It’s hard to predict who will win this game because of the different atmosphere both teams are playing in but I’ll take the Rams 27-20 over the Giants in London but wouldn’t be surprised if Giants easily win it.
