Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks: Stock up, stock down

The Los Angeles Rams head home after a tough divisional battle versus their rivals in the Seattle Seahawks.

Closing the game out on a quarterback sneak, the Rams remain unbeaten at 5-0 and continued to widen their division lead.

Stock Down

CB Marcus Peters

Peters was absolutely horrible in this game, there’s no two-ways about it. Peters was toasted multiple times for touchdowns as he proved his eyes continue to be the aspect of his game with which you have to live and die with. One can argue that he might have been hurt or not 100% fit to play, but the issues last night did not revolve around his feet - they revolved around his eyes. For a team who invested a ton into the secondary, they need to do a MUCH better job moving forward (not just Peters).

Pass rush

The Rams’ pass rush had two sacks in the game (Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh) but were invisible for majority of the game. Russell Wilson was given all the time in the world which is surprising because the Seahawks are not known to have a good offensive line. The edge rushers in Samson Ebukam, Matt Longacre, and John Franklin-Myers need to find a way to be much more productive. Not only that, but more is needed from maybe the leagues best interior trio too.

Run defense

The Seahawks had 190 rushing yards with three players (Chris Carson, Mike Davis, Tyler Lockett) all averaging over 5.6 yards per carry. Not good. Now, Carson is a tough runner with an awesome combination of speed and power, but the Rams simply need to do better. They need to be more aggressive and physical at the point of attack up front, and the linebackers need to wrap up better.

Stock Up

WR Cooper Kupp

Prior to getting knocked out of the game by way of a concussion, Cooper Kupp simply looked unstoppable. In the first half he managed to register six receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown. Every week a different wide receiver is capable of stepping up and shouldering the work load, and this week was Kupp’s. The dependability that QB Jared Goff and Kupp have developed within each other is quite evident.

K Cairo Santos

Some may not think Santos belongs here, but I think he does. His missed extra point was awful and put the Rams in a really bad position for sure, but his ability to bounce back from that awful miss and kick the field goal that eventually won the game was impressive. Santos looked comfortable in general (outside of kickoff duties).

WR Robert Woods

Woods was tremendous again yesterday with five receptions on seven targets for 92 yards. Woods’ route running ability was putting the Seahawks’ defensive backs in a daze, and he racked up a ton of yards-after-catch as Goff delivered some accurate balls that allowed Woods to never break stride. Rob was huge in continuing the offensive production in the second half when his running mates were knocked out by injuries.

ILB Mark Barron

In his return, Barron looked awesome. There were a few instances where his physicality and speed were evident. Barron ensures that ball carriers near/around him are going to feel his impact. Having the speed and coverage ability that Barron does allows the Rams to use Cory Littleton in a manner closer to what Alec Ogletree did for the defense last year.

WR’s Josh Reynolds and KhaDarel Hodge

Good on these young guys for stepping in and ensuring the offense didn’t come to a halt after two awful injuries. Reynolds made his impact right away with two receptions for 39 yards and a 10-yard end around. Meanwhile, the practice squad call up from a few weeks prior in Hodge also got on the board with a reception for 14 yards (was a great catch) and showed his ability to block.

The Rams remain unbeaten at 5-0 and look to continue the streak with a struggling Denver Broncos team in week six.