If Los Angeles Rams fans didn’t feel any vindication in their team’s willingness to risk it all to get Matthew Stafford through the first six games, Sunday’s win was enough. The Rams were caught off-guard by the Lions’ tenacity and guts to lay it all out from the first quarter to the final whistle. However, when all was said and done, it was clear that the Rams’ newest quarterback stomped on their old one like the new Terminator knocking around the old one. Of course, while the Rams enjoyed a win on Sunday, some players and coaches had better days than others. Here are the winners and losers from Week Seven.
Los Angeles Rams Winners and Losers: Week 7
Winners
Matthew Stafford
More than anyone, Matthew Stafford won the day. He faced down his old team and didn’t blink. He had one of his best games of the season, completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Put simply, Stafford was locked in against his former team. He proved to them that they made a mistake in allowing him out the door and he did it in style.
Through seven games, Stafford has 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. Through seven games, he already has a better stat line than in all of 2019, when he finished the year with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. If he remains on his current pace, he could have the best stat line of his career by the season’s end (41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2011).
Cooper Kupp
There was a fear that Cooper Kupp may have been cooling off after the Cardinals game, but the wide receiver has reached top gear once again. In Sunday’s contest, he had 10 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. This comes on the heels of last week when he had nine catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Through only seven games, Kupp has eclipsed 800 yards and nine touchdowns. The wide receiver is looking as good at the NFL level as he did at the FCS level, where Eastern Washington Alumni now feel like they’re watching their old college team with Kupp’s repeated dominance.
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Sean McVay
Sean McVay has a lot riding on Matthew Stafford. Stafford was supposed to be Sean McVay’s guy. If Stafford didn’t work out, it may have spelled trouble for the Head Coach. By defeating his old quarterback, McVay put another reason on his self-evaluation as to why he’s been held back by Jared Goff. Put simply, McVay has now given himself a buffer when it comes to the trade and the effect it has had. Barring a complete meltdown, the Rams’ next test for the Goff versus Stafford debate will be in January and whether the Rams can reach a height with Stafford that Jared Goff never did.
Losers
Jared Goff
Of course, Jared Goff isn’t a member of the Los Angeles Rams anymore. However, it would be blasphemy to leave him out of this as the ex-Rams franchise quarterback suffered what could be the worst defeat of his career (outside of the Super Bowl) at the hands of his old team. While Stafford’s legitimacy grew in a big way with the win, Goff’s legitimacy in the NFL has only shrunk. Goff has yet to win a game without Sean McVay as his head coach. Now 0-7, the Lions are the last winless team and are in range of finishing the season without a win. Needless to say, Goff’s fall from grace has been swift. It seems the Rams gave him his rise and have also given his fall.
“the Rams gave [Goff] his rise and have also given his fall.”
Special Teams
The Lions should not have been in this game as long as they were. Two fake punts and a successful onside kick mark the worst day for the special teams in quite some time. If not for those plays, the Rams would have had the lead in the game much faster. Joe DeCamillis is now on the hot seat in his first season with the team. If the special teams have a day like that against almost any other team in the NFL, they would be ending the day with a loss. Needless to say, if something like this happens in the playoffs, DeCamillis will quickly be out of a job.
Sony Michel
Sony Michel had his worst game of the season on Sunday. The ex-patriot rushed only twice for four yards. At one point this season, Michel had a shot to snipe the starting job from Darrell Henderson. However, by mid-season, it seems any hopes for Michel have ended.
Additionally, news has broken about the possibility of Cam Akers returning to the team before the end of the season, which would essentially make Michel redundant. It looks bad for the running back. His only hope is to break a massive run with the handful of touches he’s currently getting. If he can do that and build some momentum, he may be able to convince the Rams to hold off on bringing back Akers this season. However, he needs to round a corner now.