The Los Angeles Rams kept their hot streak going on Sunday with their third consecutive win, taking down the New York Giants, 26-25. It wasn’t their prettiest win against a bad team, but the Giants certainly looked much better than they have for most of the season and gave the Rams a fight.
The final score ultimately won’t matter because at this point in the season, the Rams will take any win they can get, but the Rams would’ve loved to beat the Giants more comfortably than they did.
Here are the seven biggest takeaways from Los Angeles’ 26-25 victory on the road at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The Rams moved the ball pretty easily on the Giants for much of the game, but they couldn’t hold onto the football. Demarcus Robinson fumbled it twice, losing one of them while the other went out of bounds. Matthew Stafford threw a bad interception in the first half on a pass that sailed over Puka Nacua’s head. He then threw another pick on a throw that was behind Robinson; that one was in the third quarter.
This was exactly what the Rams couldn’t do against an inferior opponent like the Giants. They could not turn it over constantly, and that nearly cost them a win.
The Rams can’t go any longer with Havrisik as their kicker. It’s time to cut him and find a more reliable option. Havrisik had already been struggling and on Sunday, he missed not one extra point attempt, but two. It’s only two points, but those are the types of plays that can cost a team a win in the postseason.
Sean McVay admitted last week that the missed kicks were impacting his decision-making on third and fourth down, which shows how little confidence he has in Havrisik. He didn’t trust him on the opening drive and went for it on fourth down, which resulted in a turnover on downs.
When in doubt, hand it to Williams in the red zone. He scored not once, not twice but three times on Sunday afternoon, giving him 15 total touchdowns this season. He added 87 yards rushing and 14 yards receiving, too, which marked his seventh straight game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
It’s no coincidence that the Rams are 8-4 with Williams in the lineup and they’re 5-1 since he returned from injured reserve, proving to be the spark Los Angeles needed on offense.
Kupp looked a little hobbled last week against the Saints, and he was shaken up again on Sunday. After his touchdown catch, he was limping on the sideline and trying to shake off whatever ailment he was feeling. Kupp hasn’t been on the injury report lately but he simply isn’t showing the usual explosiveness and speed that we’re used to.
Stafford doesn’t seem to be looking his way as much as he typically does either. Kupp ended the game with only four catches for 27 yards and a touchdown, his second straight game with fewer than 55 yards receiving.
The Rams knew the Giants were going to blitz a lot on Sunday, coming into the game with the second-highest blitz rate of any defense in the NFL. Yet, despite knowing New York was going to send extra rushers at Matthew Stafford all day, the offensive line did not handle the blitz well at all.
Stafford was sacked multiple times on third down and was brought down four times total in the game, struggling to diagnose the blitz and pick it up properly.
It might be one-and-done for Chase Blackburn as the Rams’ special teams coordinator because this unit is one of the worst in the NFL – maybe in NFL history. In addition to Havrisik’s two missed PATs, the Rams allowed a 94-yard punt return touchdown by Gunner Olszewski, which made the score 26-25 Rams after the Giants’ two-point attempt failed.
The Giants only went for two because Jonah Williams was called for encroachment on the PAT attempt, putting the ball at the 1-yard line. Special teams might get overlooked often, but it’s costing the Rams badly this season and nearly cost them a win on Sunday.
The Rams have won their last three games by eight points, eight points and one point. They should’ve won the first two by at least 14 points, and Sunday’s victory over the Giants should’ve been by at least a touchdown.
After allowing two late touchdowns to the Commanders and Saints, the Rams gave up a 94-yard punt return touchdown in the final 4 minutes to allow the Giants back into the game, nearly leading to a loss by Los Angeles in the final minutes.