Although the Los Angeles Rams sit at 2-3 through five weeks, there’s been much to like about this group.
SportsGrid looks into their results after Week 5.
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1. Cooper Kupp is Back, and Puka Nacua is Still Good
With the Los Angeles Rams starting the season without their star wideout Cooper Kupp for the first four games, expectations weren’t exactly high with this wide receiver group. Two youngsters have emerged in the Rams’ wide receiver core, headlined by rookie Puka Nacua. He’s been a target machine for the Rams through five weeks and has hauled in 46 catches for 572 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kupp returned for the Rams in Week 5, and both receivers managed to be productive, with the veteran catching eight balls for 118 yards. It was interesting to watch how Rams head coach Sean McVay schemed their offensive game plan in Week 5, and what it told us is that both these wideouts have the chance to be productive in this volume-passing offense.
2. Matthew Stafford Still has it
There were a lot of unknowns for Matthew Stafford heading into 2023. He was coming off a difficult 2022, and it was hard to know what to expect from him this season with low expectations surrounding the Rams. Stafford has thrown for 1,451 yards through five starts, along with five touchdowns and five interceptions. You would ideally like the turnover numbers to be lower, but Stafford has done an excellent job of continuing to move the football down the field. The Rams’ pass-catching targets have been better than anticipated, and the Week 5 return from Kupp only elevated the group. There’s reason to be bullish about not only Stafford moving forward but the Rams’ offense as a unit.
3. The Defense is Better than we Thought
Although we’re not ready to say the Los Angeles Rams have a defense worthy of being ranked in the league’s top half, that was never the expectation. Heading into 2023, the expectation was that the Rams would be near the bottom of the NFL regarding defensive output. They’ve been better than that through five weeks, and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris deserves a ton of credit. The Rams have held the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals under 25 points, and that’s a win on its own. This Rams group might not have a ton of high-end talent, but they still have Aaron Donald, and it’s evident he’s challenging to game-plan against. If the defense keeps them in games, the Rams will continue to surprise in 2023.
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