The Los Angeles Rams had a rough season last year and it seemed that would remain true for this current season. They have already lost Cooper Kupp (arguably the best wide receiver in the league) due to injury. Hopefully he will be back in week five, however we have not been abandoned completely as a star rookie drafted in the fifth round has emerged. His name is Puka Nacua, and he is a wide receiver from Birmingham Young University. With Kupp out Stafford has been relying on the rookie heavily since week one.Week 4 Rams v. Colts
With the win in week 4 the main take away from the game is Puka Nacua is getting better and could be a great leader for this team. You can tell he is getting better because in the first game he played he had 15 targets, but only 10 receptions. In the second week we see 20 targets and 15 receptions. This week he was elite; going 9 out of 10 targets for receptions. He is also becoming more efficient and racked up 163 receiving yards with only 10 targets.
Although Puka Nacua is a great offensive weapon, we also have a rookie running back who has taken over the backfield. With Cam Akers being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Kyren Williams has stepped up and been putting up some big numbers except for week 3. However, week 3 was a terrible offensive outing and defense was okay. In week 4 he put up 103 yards on 25 carries and 24 yards on 3 receptions. Kyren has been adapting into his role of the offense very well and has been able to fight his way for extra yardage consistently. He has been dependable when we needed him also making him a great leader.
Week 5 Kupp or Nacua?
This coming Sunday, the Rams will play the Eagles. It should be a great time to put themselves to the test. The Eagles are 4-0 however, they barely won in overtime against the 2-2 Commanders this week. It is a winnable game for the Rams and would be a huge momentum boost for the season. Cooper Kupp is available to play however, it doesn’t mean he will. Therefore, there will still be a lot of pressure upon Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams to pull the offense through. The defense will continue to be led by Aaron Donald and hopefully they can prevent D’Andre Swift in the run game after he was blown by the Washington defense today.
As long as the Los Angeles defense pulls through next week the victory should be secured as Puka Nacua continues to dominate offensively. The facts are saying that he has been a game changer in 3 out of 4 games. Most likely without Cooper Kupp this weekend they will need to look to Nacua and Williams. The offense will most likely struggle to produce just due to the overpowering Philadelphia defense. The only team to bring the offense to a halt was week 3 against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. The Offense had a low yardage game with low points as well. Even in week two against the 49ers they didn’t suffer an offensive shutdown though. Therefore, the week 3 game could be a fluke.
Injury Bug Strikes Again
There may be a decline in performance offensively due to Stafford sustaining a hip injury in the 3rd quarter that he battled through the rest of the game. We will most likely see him playing still against the Eagles as he has a very “tough it out” kind of mindset. However, I think it is possible that the injury can easily affect his performance on the field and possibly decide the result of this upcoming game. This just means that the receivers are going to have to work harder now to get open sooner so he can get the ball out sooner. If he can, he doesn’t have to scramble and risk injuring himself more.
As the Rams have already dealt with enough injury, hopefully Stafford will be playing Sunday, however we currently do not know the details surrounding his injury. It is important that they take the precautions to protect their quarterback especially since Kupp is also out. Accompanying Nacua as receivers will most likely be Tutu Atwell and Van Jefferson. Tutu Atwell has had a few well producing games however Van Jefferson has remained pretty quiet.
Future For the Season
Although Kupp could possibly play Sunday the most important thing for the rest of the season is for him to stay healthy. So it may be better for him to sit out until he is 100% or we could risk losing him the rest of the season. Although the Rams are at 0.500 right now they need to focus on getting Kupp back safely so they could possibly have a future in the postseason this year. The future is bright with Nacua but with both the possibilities will multiply.
The future for Kyren Williams looks promising as he continues to be the leader in the Ram’s backfield. Hopefully the young rookie will continue to develop as the season progresses and become even more of an offensive threat. When Cam Akers fell short this year he stepped up and proved he is a valuable asset to this team and hopefully for more years to come.
With the assistance of Williams and Nacua hopefully the veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford can lead the Rams to a week five victory and a successful season. As he gets older he can be guaranteed to be in the Ram’s future for too long so we hope he can stay healthy and continue his career until it is time to part ways. With Kupp back Stafford will have multiple great looks to more great players which will hopefully lead them to the superbowl. Until then they will continue to rely on their rookies and keep fighting to win games.