Los Angeles Rams Vs. Arizona Cardinals: Pro Football Focus Game Notes Grade Rams Well In Blowout

Pro Football Focus has their grades from the Los Angeles Rams’ 33-0 Week 7 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and suffice to say they look good for our side. We’ve got a new partnership with PFF through which they’re providing us full game notes based on their evaluations which I’m just gonna present unperturbed.

Give their new Rams-specific account a follow on Twitter at @PFF_LARams.

Week 7 Rams Offensive Stats:

For the second week in a row, right guard Jamon Brown did not surrender a single quarterback pressure on, this time on 39 pass blocking snaps and finished Sunday's game with the highest pass blocking grade on the line with an 86.3. Brown's 77.5 overall grade for the game is the highest grade earned in the 2017 season and 16th best among guards through Sunday's games. After leading the league in QB pressures allowed through the first five weeks of the season with 19, Brown has now gone two straight games without allowing a single pressure on 64 pass blocking snaps. Brown is one of only three guards out of 41 eligible to have not allowed a quarterback pressure over the last two weeks and holds a 100.0 pass blocking efficiency.

Running back Todd Gurley forced four missed tackles in the run game against the Cardinals in Sunday's game, tied for most among all running backs through Sunday's games, and averaged 2.86 yards after contact which is 0.36 yards more than any other running back in Sunday's games with at least 20 run attempts. He finished the game with an overall grade of 80.4 and a run grade of 84.7, the second week in a row with a running grade above 84.0 after not doing it once through the first five weeks of the season. Gurley has now rushed for 386 yards over the last four weeks (3rd most) and is averaging 4.7 yards per attempt in that span (11th) while 209 of those have come after contact, 7th most among running backs and over third of his 606 combined yards after contact in all of 2016.

After going quiet since his game against the 49ers, wide receiver Sammy Watkins earned his highest grade since that week 3 matchup with a 78.4, 15th highest among receivers through Sunday's games. He saw five targets for the first time since week 3 and only the third time this season, which the Rams have won every game where that is the case. QB Jared Goff has a passer rating of 114.7 when targeting Watkins, which he has done 29 times, and is tied for 15th highest passer rating when targeting a receiver. In those three games when targeting Watkins at least five times, Goff has gone 14-for-17 for 206 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 156.4, 2nd highest for any receiver when targeted.

Left Guard Rodger Saffold has earned the offensive line's highest overall game grade with an 86.9 and the 2nd best mark among the league’s guards through Sunday's games, with a very impressive run blocking grade of 89.1. Saffold's overall grade through seven weeks sits at 81.9, which would be his highest mark if the season were to end today, and is 11th among the NFL's guards with his 87.6 run blocking grade ranking 4th at his position. When running to either the left or right of Saffold this season the Rams have averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 36 attempts and have scored four touchdowns, half of their eight rushing touchdowns this season.

Rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp saw six of his 10 targets against cornerback Tyrann Mathieu who, coming into week 7, had not allowed a touchdown all season and allowed a passer rating of only 75.6 into his coverage. Kupp caught three of them for 49 yards and a touchdown, with 35 of those yards coming after the catch. Kupp's season has been impressive and his 78.2 overall grade on the season reflects that. Kupp is the highest graded rookie wide receiver in 2017 and has been targeted 41 times on the season, 11 more than any other rookie. He is averaging 1.71 yards gained per route run on 185 snaps in route, the highest among rookies with at least 40 snaps in route.

​​Week 7 Rams Defensive Stats:

Linebacker Mark Barron had a very impressive day in coverage after producing the 2nd most defensive run stops over the previous two weeks with eight. Barron was targeted five times in Sunday's game against the Cardinals, he allowed a total of zero catches and intercepted as pass on top of that. His 0.0 passer rating allowed is lower than if the quarterback had thrown every pass to the ground. His grade of 82.6 was 12th among linebackers and the highest graded defensive player for the Rams. Over the course of the season Barron had allowed 24 catches on 30 targets and a touchdown, but owned the 3rd highest pass grade on the Rams with an 82.8. Barron is putting together his best season and making plays in both the pass and run game this season. His 83.7 overall grade ranks 9th among 8 linebackers and is currently his only season above an 80.0 grade.

Edge defender Robert Quinn produced another four QB pressures in Sunday's game, the same amount he produced through the first four weeks of the season. Quinn has now produced 12 QB pressures over the last three weeks tied for fifth most among all 3-4 OLBs in that same time span. Quinn has nine of thos pressures coming from the right side on 62 pass rush snaps, while he has only rushed from the left side 15 times over the last three weeks, and produced three pressures. Quinn's four pressures topped teammate Aaron Donald's three that he produced on Sunday after he had 10 in each of his last two games. Donald's day earned him a grade of 80.6 with a QB sack, QB hit, and QB hurry with two defensive stops, solid day, but not Donald's elite performance he spoils fans with on a weekly basis.

In his first game back after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury, Lamarcus Joyner picked up right where he left off. His 79.5 grade ranked 18th among Sunday's safeties and his 86.8 pass coverage grade was the highest on the Rams. His interception came while in coverage on wide receiver J.J. Nelson and resulted in a Rams touchdown. Joyner has been targeted only eight times this season but has two interceptions and a pass defended. His 30.2 passer rating in his coverage ranks 6th lowest among all safeties in the league. Joyner's first season since switching back to safety has yielded a grade of 88.6 (5th among 84 safety) and the league's 2nd highest coverage grade (90.6).

Putting pressure on the quarterback has become a specialty with linebacker Alec Ogletree, producing another two on Sunday bringing his season total up to 15. Ogletree's 15 QB pressures are the most he has ever produced in a season having only 39 pass rushing snaps, less than half of the amount he had when he produced 14 in 2013. He finished as the 16th overall graded linebacker on Sunday with a grade of 78.2. He added three defensive stops and a pass defended for a passer rating of 85.4 into his coverage. Ogletree has produced 19 total defensive stops this season with eight of them coming in the passing game, the 8th most.

Michael Brockers put together another impressive day on Sunday with his 76.6 overall game grade and three defensive stops. Brockers continues his most impressive season since being drafted and is showing towards the top of the list among interior defenders. His 85.6 grade is on pace for his highest graded season and is currently ranked 18th among 121 interior defenders with his very impressive run defense ranking 6th at 89.9. Brockers now has 19 total defensive stops on the season, 5th most among his position and two away from being the 3rd most in any of his full seasons played. His 19 stops are also 2nd most among the players drafted the same year as him, including the likes of Damon Harrison (17), Malik Jackson (10), and Fletcher Cox (3).