The first half of Sunday’s 26-9 win for the Los Angeles Rams over the Arizona Cardinals was quiet for starting running back Kyren Williams. He carried the ball two times for four yards, and had a third five-yard run called back due to an offensive holding call.
He changed the narrative in the second half, however, as the Rams posted 20 unanswered points to defeat the Cardinals in blowout fashion. Williams carried the ball 18 times for 154 yards in the second half, including two drives of over 50 yards and one touchdown. It was the type of performance that solidified Williams as a starting-caliber running back in the NFL, as he was doing just about whatever he wanted against the Cardinals defense.
Williams spoke about his mindset after the quiet first half and what his goal was when he saw he’d be getting more carries after halftime, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN:
“I got to go,” Williams said. “That’s what my mentality was. That was what I was thinking the whole time. When my number’s called, I got to go.”
Williams felt it would be a successful half for him when his first carry went for 17 yards and he was given the very next play call as well.
“I knew once I got that first down that I was on and I just was hoping to get my number called because I was seeing everything I needed to see,” Williams said. “I was pressing the holes and I was making sure I was setting the backers where I wanted to set them to.”
The Rams starting running back is now getting the chance to prove the type of player he can be when he was given the primary job after Cam Akers was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
“That’s something I’ve always wanted,” Williams. “I ain’t never had to adjust to it because I was always working for it. I’ve always wanted that. I always knew I’d had it in me. So now it’s just displaying the work that I put in before and trusting in myself and my ability and my confidence.”
The Rams have a couple of matchups against stout run defenses in their next two games, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. But Williams has found success against a variety of different defenses this season, and at this point, there’s no reason to believe his success won’t continue.
Aaron Donald discusses how defensive line can be better
On the flip side, the Rams are showing themselves to be a better defense than projected despite the lack of star power outside of Aaron Donald. But there is always room for improvement in stopping the run and getting to the quarterback, and Donald spoke about what those improvements might be.
“I don’t think we’re playing bad football, there’s just a couple mistakes here and there. Again, missed tackles, missed opportunities that were leaving on the field that you wish you had back but it’s the nature of the game. You got to try to eliminate those mistakes. Definitely in the NFL, you make two mistakes, you give up too many big plays, you tend to be the team to lose the game.
