After coming off of an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams are in a weird spot.
On the one hand, they played well above expectations in Week 1, consistently moving the ball despite not one, not two, but three players suffering IR-worthy injuries, and if they won the coin toss in overtime, it's entirely possible the Rams are being celebrated as one of the true winners of Week 1.
Fortunately, the Rams have a pretty good bounce-back opponent for Week 2 that should help to get them to get back on track in the Arizona Cardinals, who were able to score 28 points on the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 but gave up 34 and looked like a borderline guarantee to finish fourth in the division. If Sean McVay can come correct with a quality game plan, this should be a fantastic afternoon for the Rams in the Arizona dessert.
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1. Matthew Stafford throws for under 250 yards
In Week 1, Matthew Stafford predictably put up huge yards in his big return to Ford Field in Detroit, completing 34 of his 49 passes thrown for 317 yards for one touchdown and one interception against his former team. Sure, he lost Puka Nacua early on, which clearly hurt the team even with a massive 63-yard reception by Tyler Johnson, and was under pressure pretty the whole darn night, but the pride of Georgia was far from the reason the Rams lost in Week 1, and is the biggest reason why the team was able to make it to overtime at all.
In Week 2, Stafford will once again have to command the passing game, as the Cardinals' secondary was surprisingly effective in Week 1, holding one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Josh Allen, to just 232 yards in Week 1. Granted, the Bills didn't really need to air it out more than 23 times in Week 1, as they moved the ball effectively with James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, and even Josh Allen, who recorded two touchdowns on the ground to go with his nine rushes for 39 yards. Still, if there's one area of the team where the Cardinals aren't good at all, it's run defense, which may lead to a light day for Stafford compared to his Week 1 heroics and a sub-250-yard passing day as a result.
Fortunately, the Rams have a pretty darn good rushing game of their own, so even if Stafford is held to 240 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions, that doesn't necessarily spell a horrible day, as it could instead mean big things for Kyren Williams and Blake Corum… or, based on Week 1, just Williams.
2. Blake Corum's usage once again angers Rams fans
When the Rams drafted Corum in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft out of Michigan, fans expected a brand new two-headed monster in Los Angeles.
Paired up with Williams in a regular lightning-lightning one-two punch that sort of diverts from the traditional speed-power tandem teams usually shoot for, the idea of always having McVay's preferred back style on the field on the field at (almost) all times sounded intriguing, especially with Ronnie Rivers bringing up the rear as a change-of-pace option.
In Week 1, the Rams did have McVay's preferred back on the field for almost the entire game. The bad news? It was almost always Williams, who played 71 of the Rams' 78 offensive snaps and received 18 of the Rams 23 carries.
So what gives? Why didn't Corum get in on the action in Week 1? Well, McVay was asked that question during Monday's media session and let it be known that the specifics of the game really changed up his plan.
“I think each game is going to be its own entity. It was a very unique circumstance because when we got so many of our [offensive] linemen banged up, it limited some of the different… basically, we didn't operate off anything that our game plan was,” McVay told reporters. “We had to truly just change in the middle of that game plan. When there are some things that are unforeseen, you're going to go with guys that you trust and that you know. I think the way that some of the drives unfolded, where there were long breaks in between… I think that's why you saw our running back and tight end rotation reflected as such. Colby Parkinson played 69 snaps. I believe Kyren played 71 when you look at it. I want to get Ronnie a little bit more involved. I want to be able to get Blake involved as well.”
On paper, this decision made sense; after shuffling the left side of the line twice during the game to accommodate for injuries to Joseph Noteboom and Steve Avila, the Rams run game was in shambles, and their passing game had to accommodate, too, especially after Nacua went down with an injury. While Corum probably could have put in work and produced some positive outcomes in Week 1, protecting him from such an unlucky situation makes sense.
In Week 2, expect Corum to actually get his first carry as a pro… but not to become a 50-50 rusher with Williams, as the team will have at least two new starters against the Cardinals, with Jonah Jackson also expected to move back to left guard alongside rookie center Beaux Limmer. Even if you are a dyed in wool Michigan/Rams fan, you might want to look elsewhere for your fantasy flex play.
3. The Rams even their record at 1-1
After coming a drive away from a 1-0 record in Week 1, a respectable moral victory in a sport that doesn't award moral victories, the Rams get things back on track in Week 2 versus the Cardinals, securing a feel-good win in the desert on their way back to LA.
Sure, the Cardinals are better in 2024 than 2023 in some ways, but they are a worse team pretty much across the board when compared to Los Angeles, with a work-in-progress offense, a make-shift defense, and a special teams unit that ranks middle-of-the-pack at best. If the Rams don't leave Arizona with a double-digit win, this game should be considered a disappointment.
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