For much of the first six weeks of the season, the Los Angeles Rams had struggled to find an identity. While they may still be a team with questions, the Rams got closer to finding out who they wanted to be against the Las Vegas Raiders, winning 35-21 to improve to 3-4. 

The Rams started with a three-and-out on offense, but then got back to what they do best. Through the first six weeks of the season, no quarterback had more passing attempts than Matthew Stafford. It looked like the offense was headed for a similar game script after head coach Sean McVay called three straight passes to start the game.

After Matt Gay missed from 51 yards out for the Raiders, it was all Rams. 

Rams Rediscover Their Identity Behind Blake Corum

Running back Blake Corum provided the spark to ignite the offense on Sunday afternoon. Corum had four carries for 22 yards on the second drive before Stafford found tight end Davis Allen in the end zone out of play action. 

Corum led the Rams with 17 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. He and Williams combined for 33 carries for 192 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time this season that the Rams had more rushing attempts than passing attempts on offense. 

Following a 12-play, 80-yard drive, Stafford hit Allen in the end zone for a second time. From there, the Rams kept rolling. Wide receiver Puka Nacua may have been questionable going into Sunday’s game, but there was no question about his impact.

Nacua entered Sunday’s game questionable after suffering a calf injury during Thursday’s practice. He had seven first-half receptions, which was one more than his six receptions during the entirety of last week’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. 

When Stafford hit Nacua for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, he also became the Rams’ all-time franchise leader in touchdown passes, surpassing Roman Gabriel. Gabriel threw 154 touchdown passes over 130 games in 11 seasons. Stafford did it in 63 games across six seasons. He is the only quarterback to lead two franchises in touchdown passes.

Stafford went 17-for-19 in the first half with 148 yards and three touchdowns, and finished with 195 yards. Nacua had eight receptions on 10 targets for 68 yards and the touchdown. 

To finish the first-half rampage, Williams took a toss to the left and scored from 17 yards out to give the Rams a 28-3 lead.

Rams Defense Steps Up in Critical Moments

It wasn’t just the offense that came to play on Sunday. Defensively, the Rams completely shut down a Raiders offense that entered the week ranking fifth in EPA per pass and sixth in passing success rate. At one point in the first half, the Raiders were averaging -0.96 EPA per pass with a zero percent success rate. 

Two of the Raiders’ first four drives resulted in a three-and-out. Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes broke up a pass on fourth down to force a stop and turnover on downs without Trent McDuffie in the lineup. 

As the Raiders tried to get something going in the second half, the defense once again came up with plays in big spots. Facing a 4th-and-2 in the red zone, they got pressure on Kirk Cousins to force an overthrow and turnover on downs. 

Following a Williams fumble, the defense got another fourth-down stop to force a second straight empty possession, which would prove to be important later. The Raiders finally got in the end zone in the fourth quarter when Cousins found wide receiver Tre Tucker for a 37-yard score, snapping a streak in which the Rams’ defense hadn’t allowed a touchdown in 20 straight drives. 

Rams Nearly Let a Dominant Performance Slip Away

Despite a stronger overall performance, the Rams took their foot off the gas and nearly paid the price. What seemed like a harmless touchdown that brought the Raiders within two scores at 28-12 turned out to be the start of a comeback attempt.

On the first play of the next drive, a Stafford pass went off the hands of Colby Parkinson and ended up an interception. Four plays later, Cousins hit Ashton Jeanty in the end zone for a touchdown. However, the Rams stopped the two-point conversion to make it 28-18 and keep it a two-score game. 

Needing to steal back the momentum, the Rams faced their most important drive of the game. On 3rd-and-2 from the Raiders’ 43-yard line, Stafford found Tyler Higbee for a 15-yard gain, and then three straight runs by Corum put the offense back in the red zone for the first time in the second half.

While Corum had two touchdowns taken away because of penalties earlier in the game, the third time proved to be the charm. Corum scored from four yards out to cap off his impressive day, putting the Rams back in control and ending the comeback attempt with a 35-18 lead.

The Raiders kicked a late field goal, but the Rams closed out the game with an eight-play drive to drain the clock. With three kneel-downs by Stafford, the Rams secured the win.

A Step Toward Turning the Season Around

It may have gotten shaky in the third quarter, but at points in the game, the Rams looked as good as, if not better than, they have at any point this season. With 33 rushing attempts split evenly across Corum and Williams combined with a heavy dose of 13 personnel, the Rams seemed to finally find an offensive identity they’ve lacked all season.

Coming into the game, the Rams were staring at a potential 2-5 record and their worst start of the McVay era. Instead, they got a win in a fashion that many have come to expect. This was a do-or-die type of win, and the Rams showed up in a big way. They looked much closer to the team many thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

Now, the Rams face their next challenge of being able to stack wins. They head back to SoFi Stadium next week to take on an 0-6 Los Angeles Chargers team and will have every chance to do so. Now that they’ve found an identity they can lean on and have had success with it, the Rams may finally have a foundation to build on.