The Rams, winners of four-straight games and five-straight road games, have proven they can win all sorts of matchups. From a home shootout with the Bills to the below-freezing battle with the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Los Angeles has found ways to win no matter the context or conditions. Now, the Rams are in control of their own playoff destiny at 9-6, holding the third seed in the NFC.
Against New York, the Rams pounded the rock, giving running back Kyren Williams more carries than quarterback Matthew Stafford had pass attempts. They also stuffed the run defensively and came up with three huge stops on fourth down.
Here are five interesting stats from the Rams' 19-9 win over the Jets:
The Rams didn't go backwards all game, taking zero sacks or tackles for loss for just the second time this season
The Rams' offensive line has hit their stride at the right moment, as the health and continuity within that unit has catapulted this offense forward over the last few months. Head coach Sean McVay said postgame that "the offensive line did a great job being able to create removal," and that led to success in both phases.
The Rams allowed pressure on just 26.3% of quarterback Matthew Stafford's dropbacks, their third-lowest rate of the season. Williams, along with the tight ends, also had a hand in that success, as Williams earned a Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade of 80.5 yesterday.
Williams' 95 rushing yards after contact (YAC) was the most of Week 16 (pre-MNF), via Next Gen Stats
Williams' season-high 122 rushing yards carried the Rams to victory on Sunday, and he took defenders with him all day long. Williams averaged 4.1 yards after contact per attempt, his fourth-highest mark of the season, to go along with his 95 total YAC.
Sunday was one of Williams' best games of the season from both a production and efficiency standpoint as he continued his recent stretch of dominance. This is the third time in four games that Williams has surpassed 100 rushing yards, as well as the third time this season he averaged at least five yards per carry.
The Rams forced a season-high three turnover on downs on five fourth down attempts
The Jets played with nothing to lose, as they were eliminated from playoff contention coming in. That meant going for nearly every fourth down opportunity, but the Rams stopped them more often than not.
The first risky move came in the second quarter when the Jets went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 33-yard line. Rookie linebacker Omar Speights came flying into the backfield to hit Jets running back Breece Hall behind the line for a massive stop that turned into six points shortly thereafter. Later on, cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Darious Williams both picked up impressive pass breakups to secure stops on two other fourth down tries.
The Rams allowed -31 rushing yards over expected (RYOE), their best mark of the season
Next Gen Stats models expected rushing yards based on speed and player positioning. Those calculations expected the Jets to rush for 31 more yards than they did on Sunday, when the Rams held them to 75 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Williams took those vacated yards for himself, totaling +31 rushing yards over expected.
Los Angeles allowed just 3.8 yards per rush against the Jets on Sunday, its fifth-best mark of the season. It has now held their opponent to under 80 rushing yards in two-straight games.
Sunday's game was the coldest game that Stafford has ever played in at 23 degrees
This is surprising for someone that played in Detroit for the first 12 years of his career. Pro Football Reference had the temperature at 23 degrees, which is three degrees colder than his previous career-low, a Week 17 game that saw Detroit take on the Packers in Green Bay in 2018.
Stafford only threw the ball 19 times on Sunday, completing 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. That was enough to leave East Rutherford, N.J. with a win.
