If you looked at the first-half box score from Sunday’s game, you’d have thought the Los Angeles Rams were down 20 points. They only ran the ball three times for a total of 5 yards, completely abandoning the ground game against the Arizona Cardinals for the first 30 minutes.
When a team goes away from the run that drastically, it’s usually because they’re playing from behind and trying to come back. But for the Rams, they never trailed by more than six points, yet Sean McVay refused to run the ball.
Something obviously changed at halftime because on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Rams ran the ball eight straight times and that sequence of plays couldn’t have worked out much better than it did.
- 17-yard run by Kyren Williams
- 6-yard run by Williams
- 14-yard run by Williams
- 10-yard run by Williams
- 6-yard run by Ronnie Rivers
- 2-yard run by Rivers
- 6-yard run by Williams
- 1-yard loss by Williams
In total, the Rams gained 60 yards on those eight run plays, moving the ball methodically down the field and scoring on their 10th play of the possession, a 13-yard touchdown by Cooper Kupp.
It begs the question of what led to the dramatic philosophy shift coming out of the break. Sean McVay shed a little light on the subject after the game when asked what was said to his players in the locker room.
“What would you guess?” he said with a smirk, eliciting laughs in the media room.
Kidding aside, McVay said it came down to wanting the offensive line to impose its will and get going downhill rather than playing with more finesse in pass protection when they’re forced to retreat and react rather than setting the tone.
McVay essentially admitted the Rams felt they had to abandon the run in the first half based on what the Cardinals were showing pre-snap, leading to some audibles and a pass-heavy attack. But in the second half, he didn’t let Arizona dictate what the Rams were going to do on offense.
“We got talked out of some things that we didn’t necessarily need to and wanted to be able to set their pads and be able to go downhill,” he said. “I think it was a great mixture of things that they were able to allow us to get off. And you had some explosive runs. When you’re able to have 10, 17 and then the 30-yard hit, I mean, those are big-time deals and it was awesome. But their execution is what enabled us to be able to do that. Really proud of those guys.”
After rushing for only 5 yards on three carries in the first half, the Rams gained 174 yards on 25 carries in the second half. It’s the most rushing yards in any half during McVay’s head-coaching tenure, which shows how impressive the finish to the game was.
Williams was obviously at the center of it all, rushing for a total of 158 yards and a touchdown in the win, scoring the touchdown that served as the knockout blow by putting the Rams up 23-9 midway through the fourth quarter. But he was certainly helped by the offensive line, too, including right guard Kevin Dotson.
After the game, Dotson told Adam Grosbard of the OC Register that he wants the Rams to lean on the run first before going to the pass when it doesn’t work.
“It’s the best. Because we as offensive linemen are getting tired, but, ‘Do it again,’ because we know that benefits the whole team if we can run it,” Dotson said. “I believe that should be our first option before we start passing, really test the run. Just see how they deal with it.”
It was a complete team effort on Sunday, with the defense allowing zero touchdowns and the offense putting up 20 points in the second half. But the offensive line and the rushing attack were the biggest difference in the game.