Darrell Henderson broke out at the perfect time for the Rams

Darrell Henderson had a career day on Sunday after Cam Akers left with a rib injury.

The Rams were dealt a big blow on their first offensive possession Sunday when starting running back Cam Akers suffered a rib injury and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Fortunately, the Rams have great depth at running back, which softened the pain of Akers’ injury.

Darrell Henderson was the biggest beneficiary of the increased opportunities that came with Akers’ injury, and he capitalized in a huge way with the best game of his career. He set new highs in carries (12), rushing yards (81), touchdowns (1) and receiving yards (40), racking up 121 total yards on only 14 touches – nearly 9 yards per touch.

His performance against the Eagles helped lead the Rams to a 37-19 win, with his 40-yard run and 28-yard reception really providing a boost to the offense.

Henderson didn’t play the most snaps of the Rams’ running backs, either. That title went to Malcolm Brown, who carried it 11 times for 47 yards. The unofficial snap count from PFF’s Nathan Jahnke had Brown at 37 snaps with Henderson being out there for 29, so it was a fairly close split.

Henderson’s emergence came at the perfect time, too. Brown isn’t a big-play weapon and very rarely will he rip off a long run. Akers is much more of a player who can pick up big yards in a hurry, which is why his exit from the game looked like such a big blow to the Rams.

But with Henderson’s breakout game, the Rams didn’t miss a beat on the ground. Overall, their running backs carried it 28 times for 142 yards and a touchdown, building on a strong start to the year running the ball against Dallas.

It’s unclear how long Akers will be out, but the Rams should feel good about having Brown and Henderson in the backfield to replace him – particularly after Henderson’s 121-yard performance against the Eagles. His career game couldn’t have come at a better time for the Rams.