The Los Angeles Rams crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12 for their sixth straight win, improving to 9-2 on the year and taking over the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The offense moved the ball at will in the first half before slowing down in the second, while the defense was suffocating all night long.
In such a dominant performance, it's hard to nitpick much from Los Angeles' win. And so our grades in this week's report card are universally positive, with the lowest mark being a B.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementQuarterback: A
Matthew Stafford has gotten pretty easy to grade each week. He rarely has a bad game and Sunday night was no exception. He was sharp from start to finish, dicing up a bad Buccaneers secondary that was missing some of its top players.
His 24-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams was perfect, as was his no-look throw to Colby Parkinson for six points in the first half. It's hard to play much better than the way he's played this year.
Running back: B
Kyren Williams only rushed for 46 yards, snapping a streak of 26 straight games (including playoffs) with at least 50 yards rushing. It's surprising that it came in a game where the Rams were up big early on, too, but Sean McVay wanted to ride his quarterback's arm to victory.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNeither Williams nor Corum played poorly, but they didn't exactly wow anyone, either.
Wide receiver: A
Aside from Davante Adams' one drop on a leaping attempt near the left sideline, the Rams' receivers were excellent in this one. Adams scored twice, while Puka Nacua quietly caught seven passes for 97 yards, including a toe-tapping 18-yarder on third-and-18.
Jordan Whittington even got more involved with three catches for 17 yards, as did Konata Mumpfield (two catches, 25 yards).
Tight end: A-
Colby Parkinson had one of his best games as a Ram, catching four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. Davis Allen was solid, as well, hauling in three catches for 29 yards – and not all of them were easy catches, either.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTerrance Ferguson was only targeted once on a deep ball and it was a catch he could've made but let it go off his hands.
Offensive line: A-
Stafford was barely under any pressure in this one, which is often the case for the Rams quarterback. The offensive line allowed a total of five pressures and three quarterback hits with only one sack. The run blocking could've been better overall but in terms of pass protection, the Rams' O-line was excellent.
Defensive line: A
Braden Fiske had five pressures and a QB hit, Kobie Turner had four pressures and two sacks, and the entire defensive line played well as a unit. Despite the Buccaneers being down big, they still weren't heavily skewed toward the pass from a play-calling perspective, but the defensive line still managed to generate pressure and disrupt both quarterbacks.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementInside linebacker: B+
Nate Landman finished with seven tackles, including one for a loss where he knifed by a defender and made a stop in the backfield. Omar Speights only made two tackles and had one miss but neither player allowed any receptions in coverage.
Outside linebacker: A
Jared Verse added two sacks to his season total on Sunday, finishing the night with five pressures on 35 pass-rush snaps. Byron Young also had four pressures in the win and should've had a sack but a penalty on Josh Wallace nullified it. Josaiah Stewart chipped in two pressures and one quarterback hit, as well.
Cornerback: A+
Cornerback play doesn't get much better than what we saw from the Rams on Sunday night. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. broke up five passes, including one interception on a Hail Mary, while Cobie Durant had a pick-six and stuffed a screen in the backfield for a loss; he also knocked away a sure touchdown on the Bucs' opening drive.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSafety: A
Kamren Kinchens seems to get better by the week, once again flying around the field for the Rams. Kam Curl continues to be a sure tackler and reliable presence on the back end and Jaylen McCollough had a positive impact on the game with three tackles and a pass defensed.
Special teams: A
Harrison Mevis finally got to attempt a field goal in his third game with the Rams, nailing a 40-yarder after making four PATs to start the night. He then made a 52-yarder, knocking it down the middle again. Ethan Evans hit one poor punt but has been great all year so it's nothing to worry about.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: LA Rams grades: Week 12 report card for win vs. Bucs
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