What the Rams Statement Win Means for Them Moving Forward
The Los Angeles Rams secured a gritty win against the Houston Texans, with a final score of 14-9. The game was a defensive battle, and the Rams had some messy plays that nearly cost them the game towards the end. If not for a clutch forced fumble by the newly acquired Nathan Landman, Rams fans may have been sulking out of Sofi Stadium. That being said, a win is a win, and the team was able to come out on top. More importantly, moving forward, the Rams showed they have the tools to be a team to go all the way.
The first and most important takeaway is that Matthew Stafford is back. He completed 21 of his 29 dropbacks for 245 yards and a touchdown to Davis Allen. Ten of his passes went to Puka Nacua, who was the engine of Sunday’s offense, going for 130 yards. Most importantly, Stafford looked comfortable in the pocket and didn’t seem hampered by the back injury that plagued his summer training. This was true even after taking three sacks and a hit when Stafford stepped up to deliver a dagger to Davante Adams on the sideline. He was even used on a QB sneak at the goal line that they didn’t end up converting. Clearly, both Stafford and Sean McVay are unworried about the back and trust that it will hold up throughout the season.
On the flip side, trouble could be brewing with the health of the offensive line. There were no problems with Alaric Jackson, who just returned from an issue with blood clots, but both Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson left the game with ankle injuries. When Avila left, Beaux Limmer replaced him at left guard until Dotson went down. The good news is that Avila was able to return to the game to slide Limmer over to right guard and take Dotson’s place. Unfortunately, Dotson was held out for the rest of the game, which could develop into a long-term problem for the Rams should he miss significant time.
For the defense, this win is a massive statement. Holding any team to nine points and zero touchdowns is huge, regardless of the opposing offense, and CJ Stroud and the Texans are by no means a bad offense. Granted, the Texans were missing Christian Kirk to injury, and they still have some questions on the offensive end left to be answered, but it was impressive how the Rams were able to keep the Texans out of the end zone. The conversation surrounding the Rams’ defense throughout the summer has been around Jared Verse and this young pass rush. Surprisingly, Verse was relatively quiet in this game. At least in terms of the stat sheet, Verse only registered three tackles and one quarterback hit. Even without Verse, it was great that the Rams still got to the quarterback for three sacks, through Byron Young, Tyler Davis, and the safety Jaylen McCollough.
Outside of the pass rush, the Rams’ secondary was able to overcome the doubters who marked them as a question mark for this year. Cobie Durant was able to rip an interception out of the hands of rookie receiver Jayden Higgins. Kamrem Kinchens also nearly had another pick, being unable to stay in bounds. Outside of big splash plays, it’s a good thing when the names of the secondary stay out of the broadcast, and the Rams were able to do that, especially Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Forbes. As a whole, the unit held the Texans to only 188 total air yards and contained star receiver Nico Collins to only three catches for 25 yards.
What’s most crucial is that every time the Texans marched down the field and got into Rams territory, the Rams’ defense was able to make a splash play. Every time, these big plays were able to hold the Texans to a field goal or force a turnover. The most notable of these splash plays was the aforementioned forced fumble that Landman punched out of Dare Ogunbowale’s hands as the Texans marched down the field for a would-be game-winning drive. This grittiness that the Rams are capable of when their backs get pushed against the wall is what can potentially make this Rams defense take that next step towards being a truly elite unit.
For a team that has had some slow starts over the past few seasons, a win against a 2024 playoff team is an important statement in the win column and a great morale booster. There were some mistakes to clean up, such as the Colby Parkinson fumble and the Kobie Turner penalty on a crucial third and 11. Nonetheless, Sean McVay sees these mistakes as opportunities for improvement and was encouraged by his players’ ability to fight and find a way to win. Hopefully, the Rams can carry this momentum into their Week Two matchup against the first overall pick, Cam Ward, and the Titans.
