Los Angeles Rams
Team Leader
PFF Grades: OL dominates 49ers as Rams get their revenge
Source: https://www.turfshowtimes.com/los-a...lts/129826/rams-49ers-pff-grades-kevin-dotson
Week 10 brought revenge served cold. The Los Angeles Rams got back at the San Francisco 49ers for stunning them at home. LA took a commanding lead early and never looked back.
The defense did enough to get the job done—forcing two turnovers. There will be tougher days at the office when the offense doesn’t put up six touchdowns and outpace the other team.
The offensive line dominated, kept Matthew Stafford clean, and opened up running lanes for Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. The Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades make this evident.
Top five grades on offense
1 – Kevin Dotson, RG: 91.3
It was clear during the game that Dotson was back to his normal self after battling an ankle injury in the season’s early going. Dotson was opening holes in the run game and asserting his presence down the field. PFF rewarded the veteran with a glowing 90.5 run blocking grade. Dotson was fine in pass protection at 76.4.
2 – Colby Parkinson, TE: 89.7
Colby Parkinson was asked to stay in as a pass protector on seven plays, which is part of what facing the Rams difficult as they deploy their heavier personnel. At times you must cover all five eligibles, and on other occasions they are kept into block in order to push the ball downfield. Parkinson earned a 76.7 pass blocking grade and did not allow a pressure.
His more impressive contributions came as a receiver where he drew a mark of 92.2 and caught four of five targets for 41 yards and a touchdown. 27 of these yards came after the catch point.
Noteworthy is the fact Parkinson ran 20 routes, which was significantly more than Tyler Higbee (16), Davis Allen, and Terrance Ferguson (both at 13).
3 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 87.6
There is not much to dislike about this performance from Stafford, who was excellent overall in two games against San Francisco. This performance is even better analytically than it looked on paper. The veteran finished with a traditional completion percentage of 66.7%; however, after accounting for two drops and three throwaways, this mark improves to 78.8%. There was a time late in the first half and into the early second half that the offense seemed disjointed, but the Rams started out red hot and re-found their spark later in the game.
PFF credited Stafford with two big-time throws and one turnover-worthy play. He found 20 first downs through the air and kept the chains moving.
4 – Coleman Shelton, C: 87.2
5 – Steve Avila, LG: 86.5
Avila was the only lineman in the starting five to not allow a pressure in pass protection, though he oddly received the second-lowest pass blocking grade ahead of Alaric Jackson (three pressures).
Both Shelton and Avila earned their paychecks in the run game where they finished with near-elite grades from PFF at 90.3 and 86.9, respectively.
Other notes on offense
At risk of sounding like a broken record, RT Rob Havenstein was the lowest graded member of the starting five offensive line. This has been the case for Havenstein for most of the season, and still true after he returned from injury. The jury is still out whether Warren McClendon would perform better as the full-time starter, though the 49ers don’t have enough talent on the EDGE to have made the Rams pay in this game.
Top five grades on defense
1 – Jaylen McCollough, DB: 91.1
McCollough only played 15 snaps, though he was excellent in coverage. He was targeted on four plays and allowed two receptions for 12 yards with a PBU.
2 – Quentin Lake, DB: 81.3
One of the most active players on Sunday was Quentin Lake, who finished with nine solo tackles and three run stops. He did not miss a single tackle on 11 total opportunities.
In coverage Lake allowed five catches on as many targets for 44 yards, though he still finished with a positive grade in this facet of 75.8.
3 – Tyler Davis, DT: 81.2
Davis drew a PFF run defense grade of 65.8 which is normally his bread and butter; however, he was on the field as a pass rusher more often in this game (16 to 10) and excelled in this role. Davis had the highest pass rushing grade on the entire Rams defense at 80.5 and pressured Mac Jones on three occasions. The second-year defensive lineman is hitting his stride.
4 – Byron Young, EDGE: 69.4
On a day where the EDGE rushers were not as disruptive as we are used to, Young led the team with four pressures. Jones had a 2.83 second time to throw, which is not a figure that you’d expect to limit pressure. The Rams simply did not get home in this game.
Interesting enough, Young dropped into coverage 15 times and allowed three receptions for 17 yards. Josaiah Stewart was in coverage for six plays, Nick Hampton for four plays, Jared Verse on three. This was clearly part of the Rams’ plan to slow down Christian McCaffrey, and for the most part it worked.
5 – Kamren Kinchens, DB: 68.2
Kinchens was not targeted in coverage. He missed a tackle, which lowered his overall grade. Most notable was his fumble recovery on a Nate Landman punch out, his second in as many weeks.
Kinchens played only 35 of 63 snaps. McCollough played 100% on passing plays. Lake played 13 snaps at deep safety.
Other notes on defense
Safety Kam Curl was the second-worst graded defender behind Nick Hampton (40.8) at 46.6. Curl was targeted four times in coverage, allowing four receptions for 48 yards and a long of 20. The veteran graded well in run defense, but he was seemingly playing outside of his comfort zone and the 49ers found success looking in his direction.
Nate Landman graded as the 11th player on the Rams defense at 60.0 overall. He also fared well against the run but was very porous in coverage. He allowed catches on all five targets for 71 yards, a touchdown, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Darious Williams was credited with Mac Jones’ other passing score.
Source: https://www.turfshowtimes.com/los-a...lts/129826/rams-49ers-pff-grades-kevin-dotson