Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos: Winners & losers

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Denver Broncos in Week 6, 23-20. Here were the big winners and losers:

Winners

RB Todd Gurley

It is about time.

Gurley has been consistently good this season showcasing his ability as a playmaker, but this was the first game this season where he made his statement as a rusher. Gurley ended the day with a career high 208 rushing yards on 28 carries celebrating in the endzone twice.

Gurley has showcased time and time again how important he is to the Rams whether that has been rushing, passing, or even picking up defenders as a blocker. It has been impressive seeing the most impressive player continuously perform. Perhaps Gurley will cross the bar to win MVP above Offensive Player of the Year at the end of the season which he won last year.

The medical staff

I don’t know what type of Harry Potter potions that the medical staff have given the star players so far this season, but it has been working. WR Cooper Kupp, LT Andrew Whitworth and DL Michael Brockers left the game and returned. Kupp suffered an MCL sprain and will be week-to-week which is definitely the best case scenario based on how things looked at the time.

WR Robert Woods

A very valuable trait in players is consistency. Woods has definitely been a constant, reliable weapon for QB Jared Goff. Woods finished the game with seven receptions and 109 receiving yards and continued to make crucial plays when the passing game didn’t seem to completely click like it has in previous weeks,

Thus far, Woods has more than 500 yards this season and three touchdowns and seems to be well on his way to 1,000 receiving yards this season.

Run defense

This was a surprise.

The Rams defense has been a sore spot this season and the run defense has been as leaky as a cracked dam. How did the team fare? They allowed just 13 combined rushes and 40 yards on the ground for Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay which is nothing based on the fact that the Broncos have a solid rushing attack.

Losers

CB Sam Shields / CB Troy Hill

It was another tough outing for the Rams’ highly touted secondary. Although CB Marcus Peters and S Lamarcus Joyner were bright spots on the defense, Hill and Shields did not play as well both allowing big plays. They will again be targeted heavily until they can show improvements especially playing the deep pass.

Offensive line

The offensive line was impressive in regards to the running game, but when it came to providing a wall for Goff they didn’t help as much as Goff was sacked five times. Although it could have been an aberration, it has to be concerning as well. The hope is that this does not become a trend, because the Rams passing game has been spectacular this season.