NFL Playoff Preview Countdown: No. 11 Los Angeles Rams

This is an excerpt from this week’s edition of Mike Tanier’s NFL Walkthrough, available every Monday at The Messenger…

2023 Season in a Nutshell

The Rams were supposed to spend the year quietly paying penance for their Super Bowl-era veteran binge and draft pick purge. Instead, Matthew Stafford got healthy, Puka Nacua headlined a stellar rookie class, and the Rams overcame a 3–6 start, beating lots of fellow middleweights (Seahawks twice, Colts, Browns, Saints) along the way.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford

Stafford remains one of the NFL’s most gifted pure passers when healthy. He still suffers occasional interception sprees, but he has the arm strength, accuracy, experience and decisiveness to pick apart any defense when everything is clicking, as his six touchdowns against the Browns and Ravens in December illustrated.

Offense

Nacua is a big, physical possession receiver over the middle of the field and a fierce run blocker. Injuries and Nacua’s emergence have pushed Cooper Kupp into a supporting role, but Kupp remains a silky route runner. Sean McVay has little else to work with, but he remains one of the NFL’s most innovative game-planners, always finding new ways to create opportunities for Stafford’s two top targets.

Kyren Williams is a tackle-breaking workhorse who is most effective up the middle. McVay does a fine job making sure that Williams is often running into light defensive boxes. The budget-friendly offensive line has been healthy and sturdy throughout the season.

Defense

Aaron Donald remains one of the NFL’s premier defensive lineman. Rookies Kobie Turner and Byron Young have stepped up to punish opponents who focused their pass protection exclusively on Donald. Veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon has been shadowing the opponent’s best receiver in the second half of the season, with Derion Kendrick drawing the less dangerous assignments and fellow sophomore Cobie Durant matching up against pure speedsters.

Both Kendrick and Durant are vulnerable against better receivers, and while the Rams defense has played surprisingly well, it’s still a middle-of-the-pack unit.

Special Teams

This is where the Rams feel the pain of their forced austerity measures: L.A.’s special teams may be the worst in the NFL. Brett Maher went 3-of-7 from 50-plus yards early in the season, but he returned in Week 18 to replace Lucas Havrisik, who was 2-of-6 from 40-49 yards and missed three extra points. The Rams allowed two punt return touchdowns (including an overtime game winner by the Ravens), had one punt blocked and have gotten little from their return units.

Bottom Line

The 49ers, Cowboys and Eagles all beat the Rams during the regular season. The Rams improved in the second half of the year, but they didn’t really close the gap separating them from the true contenders; there are just too many holes being spackled by a handful of standout performers and McVay’s creativity.

If nothing else, their 2023 success should shorten the Rams’ rebuilding timeline. The franchise looked poised to spend the middle of the decade in cap purgatory. Instead, they have drafted a nucleus that can keep them relevant as their Super Bowl heroes start to fade.