Rams-Giants: Key Stats Analysis - Week 16

After a pair of resounding victories over the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, the Rams came back down to earth, with disappointing back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. Penalties, turnovers, and big plays have plagued the Rams all season. They once again contributed to the Rams' undoing in losses to both Arizona and New York.

My observations from the Rams' loss to the Cardinals:

"In a close game, turnovers, big plays, and penalties can ultimately decide the outcome. They turned out to be keys in the Rams' loss to the Cardinals. Tre Mason's fumble in the first quarter, deep in Rams territory, led to a game-tying Arizona field goal. Michael Floyd's 49-yard reception in the second quarter led to a field goal, and a 6-3 Cardinals lead. A 36-yard pass interference call against Janoris Jenkins in the third quarter led to yet another Cardinals field goal, and a 9-3 lead. The Rams are 4-0 this season in games without a turnover/giveaway, and are 0-4 in games where they've had a negative turnover differential."

"The less-than-stellar play of both QB Shaun Hill and the offensive line loomed large in the loss to the Cardinals. Scoring three points in an NFL game - no matter how well your defense is playing - virtually guarantees a loss. Upgrading the offensive line (particularly the center and guard positions), and quarterback position (a quality backup plus an early round draft prospect behind Sam Bradford) will be right at the top of the Rams' shopping list in the off-season."

Throughout the 2014 season, I'll be tracking five key team statistical measures, and their affect on the outcome of every Rams game: Turnover Differential, Big Play Differential, Points Per Drive Differential, Team Penalty Yards Differential, and the score of the game at half-time. When combined, Turnover Differential and Big Play Differential creates a statistic commonly referred to as "Toxic Differential".

Why were these 5 particular metrics selected for tracking throughout the 2014 season? Turnovers and Big Plays have proven to be influential in determining the outcome of a game. There's a historically strong correlation between Points Per Drive Differential and a teams regular season record. The score at half-time and Team Penalty Yards Differential were selected specifically with the Rams in mind. There appears to be a strong correlation between the score at half-time and the Rams' win/loss record. The Rams - under Jeff Fisher - have been among the league leaders in penalties, to their detriment.

Turnover Differential

It's a widely held belief that winning the turnover battle is important to a teams success on the field. The Rams finished with 7 wins in 2013. The team had a positive turnover differential in 6 of those wins, and a zero differential in the other victory. Overall, the Rams finished 9'th in Turnover Differential (plus +8) last season. In 2013, the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks led the NFL in this key statistic.

In the game against the Giants, the Rams lost the turnover battle, with no takeaways and 3 giveaways, a minus -3 turnover differential. Benny Cunningham's fumble on a kickoff in the first quarter was critical to the outcome of the game. It led to a Giants touchdown and a 10-0 early lead.

The Rams are currently tied for 18'th in the league in Turnover Differential (-1).

	Team	Takeaways	Giveaways	Turnover Differential
1	Green Bay Packers	26	11	15
2	Houston Texans	34	20	14
3	New England Patriots	24	13	11
4	Arizona Cardinals	25	14	11
5	Seattle Seahawks	21	12	9
6	Atlanta Falcons	28	20	8
7	Cleveland Browns	29	21	8
8	Buffalo Bills	30	22	8
9	Denver Broncos	21	15	6
10	Detroit Lions	25	19	6
11	San Francisco 49ers	26	22	4
12	Dallas Cowboys	27	24	3
13	Miami Dolphins	24	22	2
14	Minnesota Vikings	19	19	0
15	Baltimore Ravens	20	20	0
16	Pittsburgh Steelers	18	18	0
17	Carolina Panthers	23	23	0
18	St. Louis Rams	23	24	-1
19	New York Giants	25	27	-2
20	Cincinnati Bengals	19	21	-2
21	San Diego Chargers	18	20	-2
22	Chicago Bears	23	29	-6
23	Indianapolis Colts	25	31	-6
24	Kansas City Chiefs	11	17	-6
25	Philadelphia Eagles	27	35	-8
26	Jacksonville Jaguars	18	26	-8
27	Washington Redskins	18	27	-9
28	Tennessee Titans	16	25	-9
29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	22	32	-10
30	New York Jets	12	23	-11
31	New Orleans Saints	16	27	-11
32	Oakland Raiders	13	27	-14

Team Penalty Yards Differential

In 2013, the Rams were the 2'nd most penalized team in the NFL, averaging 7.7 Team Penalties Per Game. An excessive number of penalties can stall drives, and can keep opponents' drives alive. In an average NFL game, the officials will call between 12-14 penalties per game (both teams combined). The Rams' goals should be to have no more than 6 penalties per game, plus a positive Team Penalty Yards Differential.

The Rams were flagged for 9 penalties - totalling 76 yards - in the contest against New York. The Giants committed 12 penalties for 149 yards. For the Rams, the result was a positive Team Penalty Yards Differential of 73 yards.

After 15 games, the Rams are the 4'th most-penalized team in the NFL, averaging 7.8 penalties per game. The Rams lead the league in most penalty yards (1094), and are 29'th in the league in Team Penalty Yards Differential (-232).

Big Play Differential

Big Play Differential is the difference between the number of big plays - running plays of 10+ yards plus passing plays of 25+ yards - an offense creates, and the number of big plays a defense allows. How important are big plays to a teams offense/defense? Last season, NFL teams averaged 0.8 points per drive without a big play, and 3.9 points per drive with at least one of them.

In the game against New York, the Rams' offense produced 4 rushing big plays, and 3 passing big plays. The Rams' defense gave up 2 rushing big plays, and 4 passing big plays, resulting in a plus +1 Big Play Differential for the game. Odell Beckham Jr., Reuben Randle, and Andre Williams all had big plays that resulted in scores for the Giants.

Rams have allowed third fewest completions on passes traveling 20+ yards (14). Problem is, seven have gone for TDs which is tied for 22nd.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 22, 2014

In other words, Rams defense not giving up the big passes often but when they do, they go real big.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) December 22, 2014

Symmetry in stats: Giants had 514 yards vs. Rams. 257 came on six plays of 23 yards or more (42.8 per play); 257 on other 61 plays (4.2 avg)

— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) December 22, 2014

The Rams currently rank 12'th in the league in Big Play Differential (+5). The teams' NFL ranking has shown significant improvement in the past 8 weeks.

Rank	Team	Plays	Big Plays	Rush	Pass	Big Play %	BPA	+/-
1	Seattle Seahawks	959	102	79	23	10.64%	43	59
5	Denver Broncos	928	79	43	36	8.51%	39	40
4	Baltimore Ravens	957	82	59	23	8.57%	59	23
10	New York Jets	990	81	60	21	8.18%	58	23
2	Green Bay Packers	939	95	63	32	10.12%	73	22
28	Detroit Lions	979	60	32	28	6.13%	38	22
3	Dallas Cowboys	954	83	59	24	8.7%	65	18
8	San Francisco 49ers	949	78	54	24	8.22%	60	18
6	Washington Redskins	938	79	46	33	8.42%	65	14
13	Houston Texans	985	74	50	24	7.51%	64	10
12	Cincinnati Bengals	886	68	48	20	7.67%	61	7
7	St. Louis Rams	897	74	46	28	8.25%	69	5
21	Carolina Panthers	1,009	70	50	20	6.94%	67	3
17	Miami Dolphins	974	70	49	21	7.19%	68	2
9	Pittsburgh Steelers	1,011	83	42	41	8.21%	82	1
14	Philadelphia Eagles	1,056	79	49	30	7.48%	80	-1
11	Indianapolis Colts	1,039	81	41	40	7.8%	87	-6
22	Chicago Bears	946	64	38	26	6.77%	72	-8
15	Cleveland Browns	949	70	41	29	7.38%	79	-9
24	Arizona Cardinals	926	61	31	30	6.59%	71	-10
29	Buffalo Bills	962	59	27	32	6.13%	70	-11
25	New England Patriots	1,011	66	40	26	6.53%	79	-13
26	Minnesota Vikings	920	58	38	20	6.3%	74	-16
31	Atlanta Falcons	966	58	33	25	6%	74	-16
20	Jacksonville Jaguars	935	65	40	25	6.95%	82	-17
18	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	871	61	32	29	7%	79	-18
19	New Orleans Saints	1,032	72	45	27	6.98%	90	-18
16	Tennessee Titans	860	62	32	30	7.21%	82	-20
30	San Diego Chargers	943	57	32	25	6.04%	78	-21
32	Oakland Raiders	937	49	28	21	5.23%	70	-21
23	Kansas City Chiefs	905	61	42	19	6.74%	84	-23
27	New York Giants	1,008	62	34	28	6.15%	101	-39

Points Per Drive Differential

Points Per Drive Differential is a derivative of Points Scored/Allowed. It measures the number of points generated/allowed on an average drive. 13 teams reached the playoffs/won 10 games in 2013. 12 of them finished in the top dozen in Points Per Drive Differential. Successful teams with winning records are normally the most efficient - both offensively and defensively - and consistently generate positive PPD Differentials.

In Sunday's game, the Rams had 12 drives in total, and scored 27 points on those drives (2.25 points per drive), an above-average result for the Rams' offense. The Giants had 12 drives in total, and scored 37 points on those drives (3.08 points per drive), a poor result for the Rams' defense. The Rams' Points Per Drive Differential versus the Giants: Minus -0.83.

After 15 games, the Rams rank 22'nd in the league in Points Per Drive Differential (- 0.14). The teams' NFL ranking took a step back in the losses to Arizona and New York.

	Team	Points Per Drive	Points Per Drive Against	Point Differential
1	New England Patriots	2.68	1.72	0.96
2	Green Bay Packers	2.87	2.01	0.86
3	Seattle Seahawks	2.28	1.55	0.73
4	Denver Broncos	2.38	1.8	0.58
5	Baltimore Ravens	2.29	1.74	0.55
6	Dallas Cowboys	2.55	2.02	0.53
7	Philadelphia Eagles	2.33	1.89	0.44
8	Kansas City Chiefs	2.07	1.65	0.42
9	Houston Texans	1.93	1.54	0.39
10	Pittsburgh Steelers	2.51	2.17	0.34
11	Detroit Lions	1.8	1.47	0.34
12	Indianapolis Colts	2.24	1.94	0.3
13	Buffalo Bills	1.74	1.49	0.25
14	Miami Dolphins	2.17	2.01	0.15
15	Arizona Cardinals	1.7	1.57	0.14
16	San Diego Chargers	2.1	1.97	0.13
17	Cincinnati Bengals	1.88	1.82	0.07
18	New York Giants	1.98	2.02	-0.04
19	Minnesota Vikings	1.88	1.96	-0.09
20	Atlanta Falcons	2.3	2.39	-0.09
21	Cleveland Browns	1.6	1.7	-0.11
22	St. Louis Rams	1.82	1.95	-0.14
23	New Orleans Saints	2.32	2.51	-0.19
24	San Francisco 49ers	1.7	1.95	-0.24
25	Carolina Panthers	1.8	2.21	-0.4
26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1.51	2.22	-0.71
27	Washington Redskins	1.59	2.33	-0.74
28	Chicago Bears	1.81	2.57	-0.76
29	New York Jets	1.42	2.22	-0.8
30	Jacksonville Jaguars	1.26	2.16	-0.9
31	Oakland Raiders	1.29	2.2	-0.91
32	Tennessee Titans	1.38	2.31	-0.93

Score At Half-Time

In 2013, the Rams finished with a 7-9 record. In all 7 victories, the Rams were either tied or leading at half-time. In the Rams' wins against Tampa Bay, Seattle, Oakland, Washington, and Denver this season, they were leading at the half in all five contests. In the win against San Francisco, the Rams were tied 10-10 at half-time.

In the game against New York, the Rams went into the locker room losing 20-13 at half-time. The Rams went on to lose the game 37-27. In 10 out of 15 games this season, the Rams either led or were tied at half-time.

All statistical charts are courtesy of Sporting Charts.

Weekly Summary

Week	Turnover Diff.	Big Play Diff.	PPD Diff.	PY Diff.	Half-Time	Game Score
1	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	0  13	Lost 34-6
2	Even	Negative	Positive	Negative	10  7	Won 19-17
3	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	21  10	Lost 34-31
4	-	-	-	-	-	Bye Week
5	Even	Positive	Positive	Negative	7  20	Lost 34-28
6	Even	Negative	Negative	Negative	14  10	Lost 31-17
7	Even	Negative	Negative	Positive	21  6	Won 28-26
8	Even	Negative	Negative	Negative	7  10	Lost 34-7
9	Even	Negative	Positive	Negative	10  10	Won 13-10
10	Negative	Positive	Negative	Negative	14  10	Lost 31-14
11	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive	13  7	Won 22-7
12	Even	Negative	Negative	Negative	10  6	Lost 27-24
13	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive	38  0	Won 52-0
14	Positive	Positive	Positive	Negative	6  0	Won 24-0
15	Negative	Negative	Negative	Negative	3  6	Lost 12-6
16	Negative	Positive	Negative	Positive	13  20	Lost 37-27

Look at all the positive results in the three wins between Week 11 and Week 14. Then look at the negative results in the losses to San Diego, Arizona, and New York between Week 12 and Week 16. Therein lies the difference between winning and losing football games.

Points per Drive Differential: 6 games positive - Record 5-1. 9 games negative - Record 1-8.

Turnover Differential: 3 games positive - Record 3-0. 5 games negative - Record 0-5. 7 games even - Record 3-4.

Big Play Differential: 6 games positive - Record 3-3. 9 games negative - Record 3-6.

Penalty Yards Differential: 4 games positive - Record 3-1. 11 games negative - Record 3-8.

Pro Football Focus Grades

As an added feature, OakCityRam is generously contributing his weekly compilation of Pro Football Focus grades for each Rams player. Although PFF grades have their shortcomings and are quite subjective, they do offer a unique perspective. The grades can be a valuable tool for analyzing individual player performance, especially when used in conjunction with other statistics. PFF provides - on their website - a detailed description of how players are graded.

Rams versus Cardinals - Week 15

NFL	OFFENSE			Play Counts					Ratings
RANK	Pos.	#	Name	Total	Run	Pass	Run Block	Pass Block	Overall	Pass	Rush	Pass Block	Screen Block	Run Block	Penalty
126/133	LT	79	Greg Robinson *	65	0	0	20	45	2.7			0.2	0.5	1.7	0.3
40/136	LG	76	Rodger Saffold *	65	0	0	20	45	2.7			1.8	0	0.7	0.2
39/130	TE-L	46	Cory Harkey *	10	0	2	5	3	0.7	0.4	0	0.2	0	0.1	0
99/130	TE-R	88	Lance Kendricks *	29	0	12	13	4	0.7	0.1	0	0.2	0	0.3	0.1
15/210	SLWR	12	Stedman Bailey	43	1	33	9	0	0.6	0.2	0.3	0	-0.5	0.5	0.1
117/210	RWR	81	Kenny Britt *	60	0	40	20	0	0.5	1.4	0	0	0	0	-0.9
58/71	QB	14	Shaun Hill *	65	0	45	20	0	0	-0.2	0.1	0	0	0	0.1
35/68	C	61	Tim Barnes	1	0	0	0	1	0			0	0	0	0
182/210	LWR	13	Chris Givens	8	0	8	0	0	-0.3	-0.3	0	0	0	0	0
88/142	HB	36	Benny Cunningham	34	2	22	3	7	-0.4	0.1	-0.4	0.4	0	-0.5	0
151/210	SRWR	11	Tavon Austin *	62	1	42	19	0	-0.8	-1.7	0.3	0	0.5	0	0.1
84/133	RT	72	Joe Barksdale *	65	0	0	20	45	-1.3			-0.3	0	-1.3	0.3
128/142	HB	27	Tre Mason *	31	13	9	2	7	-1.3	-0.2	-1.5	0.4	0	0	0
15/130	TE-R	89	Jared Cook	47	0	33	12	2	-3	-2	0	0.1	0.5	-1.7	0.1
67/68	C	63	Scott Wells *	65	0	0	20	45	-6.2			-2.9	0	-3.4	0.1
131/136	RG	69	Davin Joseph *	65	0	0	20	45	-6.3			-2.7	0	-2.8	-0.8

	DEFENSE			Play Counts				Ratings
	Pos.	#	Name	Total	Run	Rush	Cov.	Overall	Run Defense	Pass Rush	Pass Cov.	Penalty
1/119	DLT	99	Aaron Donald *	55	26	29	0	3.4	0.2	3	0	0.2
11/90	DLE	95	William Hayes	21	13	8	0	2.7	3.3	-0.7	0	0.1
80/90	WLB	52	Alec Ogletree *	69	33	12	24	2.2	1.1	0	1	0.1
48/216	RCB	21	Janoris Jenkins *	69	33	0	36	2.2	1.7	0	0.4	0.1
30/216	LCB	22	Trumaine Johnson *	48	17	0	31	1.5	0.1	0	1.3	0.1
30/170	FS	23	Rodney McLeod *	69	33	2	34	1.3	-0.6	-0.2	2	0.1
23/216	SCB	33	E.J. Gaines *	69	33	1	35	1.1	-1.3	-0.1	2.4	0.1
83/119	DRT	90	Michael Brockers *	39	23	16	0	0.1	-0.2	0.2	0	0.1
87/90	SLB	58	JoLonn Dunbar	19	16	0	3	-0.1	-0.2	0	0.1	0
30/170	SS	26	Mark Barron	16	0	4	12	-0.6	0	0.2	0.2	-1
66/90	DRE	97	Eugene Sims	17	9	8	0	-0.8	-0.7	-0.2	0	0.1
27/170	SS	25	T.J. McDonald *	69	33	1	35	-1.1	-1.1	-0.1	0	0.1
12/90	DRE	94	Robert Quinn *	52	24	28	0	-1.6	-2	-0.3	0.5	0.2
47/119	DRT	98	Kendall Langford	30	17	13	0	-1.6	-1.5	-0.2	0	0.1
115/121	MLB	55	James Laurinaitis *	69	33	15	21	-2.1	-2.4	-0.7	0.9	0.1
76/90	DLE	91	Chris Long *	48	20	28	0	-3.5	-1.9	-1.8	0	0.2

	SPECIAL TEAMS			Ratings
	Pos.	#	Name	Overall	Kickoffs	Punts	FG/EP	Penalty
1/35	P	6	Johnny Hekker	4.7	0	4.7	0	0
57/1125	ST	54	Will Herring	1.5	0	1.5	0	0
100/1125	ST	26	Mark Barron	0.5	0.5	0	0	0
1078/1125	ST	53	Daren Bates	0.5	0	0.5	0	0
889/1125	ST	36	Benny Cunningham	0.5	1	-0.5	0	0
16/52	K	4	Greg Zuerlein	0.2	0.4	0	-0.2	0
412/1125	ST	31	Maurice Alexander	-0.5	0	-0.5	0	0
100/1125	ST	34	Chase Reynolds	-0.5	0	-0.5	0	0
100/1125	ST	42	Trey Watts	-1	0	0	0	-1
763/1125	ST	11	Tavon Austin	-1.2	0	-1.2	0	0

Rams versus Giants - Week 16

NFL	OFFENSE			Play Counts					Ratings
RANK	Pos.	#	Name	Total	Run	Pass	Run Block	Pass Block	Overall	Pass	Rush	Pass Block	Screen Block	Run Block	Penalty
32/178	RWR	81	Kenny Britt *	55	0	36	19	0	3.7	2.6	0	0	0.5	0.5	0.1
53/73	QB	14	Shaun Hill *	63	0	39	24	0	1.7	1.7	-0.1	0	0	0	0.1
98/113	TE-L	88	Lance Kendricks *	33	0	11	19	3	1.4	1.2	0	0.2	0	-0.1	0.1
81/137	RT	72	Joe Barksdale *	63	0	0	24	39	1.4			0.4	0	0.8	0.2
23/43	FB	46	Cory Harkey	23	0	5	16	2	1.4	-0.1	0	0.1	0	1.4	0
123/147	HB	27	Tre Mason *	30	14	11	5	0	1.1	0.3	0.8	0	0	0	0
13/135	TE-R	89	Jared Cook *	41	0	29	11	1	1	0.1	0	0.1	0	0.7	0.1
39/145	LT	76	Rodger Saffold *	63	0	0	24	39	0.9			1.9	0	-1.2	0.2
80/147	HB	36	Benny Cunningham	30	1	25	2	2	0.4	0.5	-0.2	0.1	0	0	0
178/215	RWR	13	Chris Givens	12	0	9	3	0	0.1	0.1	0	0	0	0	0
52/147	HB	30	Zac Stacy	3	2	1	0	0	0.1	0	0.1	0	0	0	0
69/70	C	63	Scott Wells *	63	0	0	24	39	-0.8			0.4	0	-1.3	0.1
20/215	SRWR	12	Stedman Bailey *	44	0	30	14	0	-1.6	-1.7	0	0	0	0	0.1
178/215	RWR	11	Tavon Austin	44	4	30	10	0	-2.1	-1.7	0.5	0	0	0	-0.9
141/145	RG	69	Davin Joseph *	63	0	0	24	39	-3.4			-2.4	0	-1.2	0.2
60/145	LT	79	Greg Robinson *	63	0	0	24	39	-5.6			-2.1	0	-1.7	-1.8

NFL	DEFENSE			Play Counts				Ratings
RANK	Pos.	#	Name	Total	Run	Rush	Cov.	Overall	Run Defense	Pass Rush	Pass Cov.	Penalty
10/96	DRE	94	Robert Quinn *	51	26	25	0	1.6	0	1.4	0	0.2
29/176	SS	25	T.J. McDonald *	71	36	5	30	1.6	2.4	0.6	-0.5	-0.9
35/225	RCB	21	Janoris Jenkins *	67	34	0	33	1.1	0.2	0	0.8	0.1
110/124	MLB	55	James Laurinaitis *	71	36	9	26	0.6	0.7	-0.7	0.5	0.1
82/125	DRT	90	Michael Brockers *	50	28	22	0	0.1	0.1	-0.2	0	0.2
174/225	SCB	20	Lamarcus Joyner	16	3	3	10	-0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.2	0
84/97	SLB	58	JoLonn Dunbar	19	17	0	2	-0.2	-0.2	0	0	0
94/97	WLB	52	Alec Ogletree *	71	36	4	31	-0.4	-0.3	0.2	0.6	-0.9
12/96	DLE	95	William Hayes	19	6	13	0	-0.6	0.9	-0.1	0	-1.4
46/176	SS	26	Mark Barron *	20	9	3	8	-1	0.1	-0.2	-0.9	0
49/176	FS	23	Rodney McLeod *	71	36	1	34	-1.1	-1.1	-0.1	0	0.1
56/125	DRT	98	Kendall Langford	30	17	13	0	-1.1	-0.5	-0.7	0	0.1
27/225	LCB	33	E.J. Gaines *	42	22	0	20	-1.3	-1.4	0	0	0.1
78/96	DLE	91	Chris Long *	44	23	21	0	-1.9	-0.4	-1.7	0	0.2
75/96	DRE	97	Eugene Sims	32	17	15	0	-2.4	-0.8	-1.2	0.5	-0.9
1/125	DLT	99	Aaron Donald *	53	27	26	0	-2.6	-2.9	0.1	0	0.2
108/225	LCB	22	Trumaine Johnson	54	23	0	31	-4.5	0.1	0	-4.7	0.1

NFL	SPECIAL TEAMS			Ratings
RANK	Pos.	#	Name	Overall	Kickoffs	Punts	FG/EP	Penalty
1/37	P	6	Johnny Hekker	4.1	-0.2	4.3	0	0
1101/1181	ST	53	Daren Bates	1.5	0	0.5	2	-1
807/1181	ST	11	Tavon Austin	0.7	0	0.7	0	0
85/1181	ST	26	Mark Barron	0.5	0.5	0	0	0
46/1181	ST	54	Will Herring	0.5	0	0	0.5	0
62/1181	ST	34	Chase Reynolds	0.5	0.5	0	0	0
200/1181	ST	59	Korey Toomer	0.5	0	0.5	0	0
62/1181	ST	38	Cody Davis	0	0	0	0	0
18/58	K	4	Greg Zuerlein	-0.1	-0.9	0	0.8	0
660/1181	ST	42	Trey Watts	-0.5	0	-0.5	0	0
944/1181	ST	31	Maurice Alexander	-1	0	0	0	-1
944/1181	ST	98	Kendall Langford	-1.5	0	0	0	-1.5
944/1181	ST	36	Benny Cunningham	-2	-2	0	0	0

A tale of two games, each totally different, yet both ending in losses. Against Arizona, the Rams defense limited the Cardinals to 12 points, while the offense sputtered. Those results are reflected in the individual player grades for the game. Against New York, the opposite occurred. The Rams' offense outplayed their own defense, for the first time in many a game. Once again, the results are reflected in the individual player grades.

Aaron Donald and John Hekker continue to play at an All-Pro level. Both are ranked first in the NFL at their respective positions.

Aaron Donald has 39 total pressures, per @PFF. That's the most for a rookie defensive tackle since Ndamukong Suh's 41 in 2010.

— SI_DougFarrar (@SI_DougFarrar) December 23, 2014

Scott Wells and Davin Joseph continue to play at a level that assures them a ticket out of St. Louis.