It was a disastrous outing for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football versus the Tennessee Titans, resulting in their second loss of the season. Even though the Rams didn’t run the ball often on Sunday night, and there weren’t many positives to take away from the game, Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein shined in the running game.
Whitworth and Havenstein rounded out the top five in run-block win rate in Week 9, ahead of Monday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears. While Los Angeles found itself in a hole early, it did have success running the ball with Darrell Henderson Jr., who carried it 11 times for 55 yards.
Top 5 tackles (well, 6) in run block win rate in Week 9. pic.twitter.com/cWtynaRMeB
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 8, 2021
Altogether, the Rams ran the ball 19 times, compared to Matthew Stafford’s 48 passing attempts. With Stafford dropping back more, the Titans continued to create pressure on the veteran quarterback throughout the game, sacking him a season-high five times.
I’m the last person to say that the Rams need to run the ball just for the sake of running the ball. But there are instances where Sean McVay inexplicably elects to air it out when Los Angeles needs just 1 yard.
I’d understand if the Rams strayed away from the run if they weren’t able to have success on the ground. However, they averaged 5 yards per carry with Henderson and the offensive line was creating plenty of holes to run through.
Calling passing plays nearly every play allowed the Titans to dial up their pass rush, mainly from the interior. It’s only the Rams’ second loss of the season, so it’s far from the time to panic. Even in a game that concluded in a double-digit defeat, it was a positive sign to see Whitworth and Havenstein perform well in the trenches when the Rams were able to run the ball.