The Los Angeles Rams traveled to the East Coast for the third time this season in Week 5, taking on the Washington Football Team. This was a game the Rams knew they needed to win to keep pace with the other teams in their division, and they were able to take care of business with a 30-10 victory to improve to 4-1 on the year.
For the first time this season, the Rams put together a complete performance, dominating on both sides of the ball to earn the easy victory.
The defense got things started by forcing a three-and-out to begin the game, and it was all offense from there. Jared Goff led the Rams down the field on their first three drives of the game, and the red zone woes were a thing of the past as they scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives.
While the defense gave up a touchdown run to quarterback Kyle Allen in the first quarter, they then settled in from there and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks all day long. Not only did the Rams have a season-high eight sacks, but they also held Washington to just 108 total yards in the game, which is by far their lowest mark on the season.
In what was a cool story, Alex Smith got into the game at quarterback for Washington after Allen was knocked out due to injury. Everything Smith has gone through the last couple of years battling a gruesome injury is well-documented, so it was awesome to see him back in a game.
The Rams’ defensive line didn’t take it easy on him though, constantly putting pressure on him to make things difficult. The result was a 30-10 win, and here are some observations from what was a fun game for Rams fans:
Put some respect on Jared Goff’s name
Goff heard the slander this offseason after a down year in 2019, because WOW has he been awesome this season. Goff ranks sixth in the league with a 108.8 quarterback rating and also averages 9.0 yards per attempt, which is the best in the league through the first five games.
Credit to Sean McVay’s play design for constantly getting receivers open, but also a huge credit to Goff for finding them every time and playing mistake-free football for the most part.
Week 5 was one of Goff’s best games as he completed 21-of-30 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns passes and one interception, also adding a touchdown on the ground. He hit Robert Woods on a beautiful deep ball for a 56-yard touchdown in the second quarter, one of his best throws of the season.
Goff’s name typically isn’t brought up in top-10 quarterback conversations for some reason, but if he continues to play at this level, people will have no choice but to include him. People who laughed at the size of his contract a couple of years ago aren’t really laughing anymore.
Aaron Donald continues to wreak havoc
What more is there to say about Aaron Donald?
His name is brought up in these observations literally every week because, well, it is impossible not to notice him when he is on the field playing football.
Donald is truly in a class of his own when it comes to defensive players and he is well on his way to a third NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in the last four seasons.
This game was arguably the best of his career though as he recorded four sacks for the first time. It marked the fifth three-sack game of his career, which is the most by any player since he entered the league in 2014. And by the way, Donald is an INTERIOR lineman.
We are running out of words to describe his greatness, so at this point, let’s just enjoy the show that Donald puts on week in and week out to help the Rams win games.
Also worth noting that the NFL sack record is 22.5, while Donald’s career-high is 20.5. With 7.5 sacks through five games, Donald is currently on pace to finish with 24 sacks. Just something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Troy Reeder stepped up in absence of Micah Kiser
The Rams’ defensive greatness in Week 5 wasn’t limited to Donald as Troy Reeder also had a career day. Reeder got the start because the team’s leading tackler, Micah Kiser, missed the game due to injury.
He didn’t look great at first as Washington was constantly picking on him in the passing game. Brandon Staley made an adjustment though, taking Reeder out of coverage and gave him an opportunity to rush the quarterback, and the results were staggering.
Reeder finished with a team-leading 11 total tackles (eight solo) on the day, also adding a career-high three sacks.
The linebacker position was considered a weakness for the Rams heading into the season, but Kiser and Reeder have both proven to be up to the task so far.
Running back will be a committee
Each week we have tried to speculate who will separate themself from the pack in the Rams’ running back committee, but if anything has become clear through five weeks it’s that it may be no one.
The Rams have three quality running backs, and they all saw playing time in Week 5. Darrell Henderson led the way with 18 touches, and deservingly so as he has played well the last few weeks. He still split time with Cam Akers and Malcolm Brown though, who each had nine touches of their own.
Akers was returning from injury and flashed what he is capable of with a 46-yard run in the fourth quarter. After the game, Sean McVay said he expects Akers to get more touches moving forward.
So it looks like the committee will continue moving forward and why not considering how much success they have had offensively.
The NFC East stinks
Not much to say on this one. The Rams have faced NFC East opponents in four of the first five weeks of the season and went 4-0. The Dallas Cowboys are currently in first place in that division at 2-3, which is tied with the last-place team in the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers.
49ers up next
Speaking of the 49ers, they are next up for the Rams in Santa Clara next week as the two division opponents will square off on Sunday Night Football.
The 49ers are having a bit of a down year after making the Super Bowl last year. They are coming off a tough 43-17 loss at home to the Miami Dolphins, but division games are always personal so they likely will have more motivation against the Rams.
Jimmy Garapolo left the game early to rest his injured ankle, so it will be interesting to see if he is ready to go against the Rams or if they turn to C.J. Beathard once again. The 49ers will be without star players like Nick Bosa and Richard Sherman though, which is a big reason they have struggled this season.
