The Los Angeles Rams have finally found some consistent success. After a season full of back and forths, they have won two games in a row to get back in the NFC postseason picture at 8-5.
Oddly enough, the success came only after they made some changes to the offensive game plan. In the last few weeks, the Rams have looked to their tight ends for big numbers even more so than their star-studded cast of wide receivers.
In the last two wins, Tyler Higbee has become a much bigger factor in the Rams offense than he previously was. As Higbee’s target count has risen, players like Cooper Kupp’s targets has fallen a bit.
Although Kupp is playing and producing less, he understands that each week the game plan changes and he is ready to do whatever it takes to help win, even if that means taking a back seat, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“You go into a the week with a game plan, and the game plan needs to be whatever it takes to win the game,” he said. “Whatever it takes is what it needs to be.
“And everyone in this locker room is going to embrace that your role changes week to week — but your job doesn’t.”
Kupp and Higbee are not the only players to see their roles change. Receivers Josh Reynolds and Brandin Cooks have seen theirs change from game to game, while Robert Woods has suddenly become the top receiver for the Rams.
Additionally, Todd Gurley has once again become the focus of the Rams offense. Head coach Sean McVay stated last week that he was an ‘idiot’ for not utilizing Gurley more earlier in the season, but he has since made up for his mistake. Gurley has had 42 rush attempts across the last two games, his highest for a two-game period this year.
Lately, McVay has been focused on trying to balance the offense between running and passing, but also adjusting the offense each week for each opponent:
“I think a lot of it is, ‘What do we think is the best way to have a little bit of a balance on some of the early downs? What do we think is the best way in some instances to run the football?’ ” McVay said Monday. “It is also predicated on, ‘All right, what does this defense do and what does that mean in terms of some of the matchups that you want to create?’ ”
With that in mind, the Rams are working creating a game plan for their upcoming matchup with the Dallas Cowboys in what is another must-win game. Kupp typically has come up the biggest when the lights are brightest, so look for him to have a big game in Dallas.
