LOS ANGELES — In the week leading up to the Los Angeles Rams’ dominant victory against the Seahawks, coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford fielded multiple questions about what the first Sunday would be like without Cooper Kupp.
The questions made sense. Last season — the year after Kupp won the triple crown of receiving — Stafford depended so heavily on Kupp that the receiver’s target share was 31% through Week 10 before he injured his right ankle and missed the rest of the season.
But unlike the final eight games of the 2022 regular season — most of which were played without Stafford — the Rams showed off the depth they believed they had in the receivers room in the 30-13 victory. Kupp, who missed the game with a hamstring injury, will be out at least three more games after he was placed on injured reserve on Saturday.
While McVay was quick to say that Sunday’s victory was just one of 17 guaranteed games, here’s a look at why this offense succeeded in Week 1, and why they might survive (at least) four games without Kupp on the field.
Depth at wide receiver
The Rams had not just one, but two receivers with more than 100 receiving yards on Sunday. Tutu Atwell set career highs with six catches for 119 yards, and rookie fifth-round pick Puka Nacua’s 10 catches for 119 yards were the most receiving yards in a rookie debut in team history.
And although fourth-year receiver Van Jefferson finished with just four catches for 24 yards, McVay said after the game that the receiver “is going to continue to be a big part of this as well.” Unlike last season when Jefferson was out with a knee injury, where defenses knew Kupp was Stafford’s most likely target, the Rams had multiple successful options.
“Cooper is a special player, and we can’t wait to be able to get him back,” McVay said. “But I do think that our offense has operated at its best when you get everybody involved and you make people defend the full width and depth of the field and make them defend all five eligibles.
“And I think that’s an important thing for us to be cognizant of while not being naive to the fact that you wanted to get certain players involved and get them their targets so that they can affect the game in a positive way.”
The running game
Despite the success the Rams had in the passing game, it was the Rams’ running backs who found the end zone on Sunday. Los Angeles was led on the ground by 2022 fifth-round pick Kyren Williams, who had 52 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts.
He is just the second Rams player to score two rushing touchdowns in a season opener in the last 25 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He set career highs in both rushing yards and attempts against Seattle.
Running back Cam Akers, who ended the 2022 season with three consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards, scored a touchdown but had just 29 yards on 22 carries. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that is the fewest rush yards in a game with 20 or more attempts since Adrian Peterson in 2017 (21 attempts for 29 rush yards).
McVay pointed out that while the Rams were “pretty efficient in some of those second down-and-longer situations … you don’t want to make a habit in living in those” and would rather be more efficient overall in the early downs.
“And so I thought that was something that we can definitely improve upon, even though we were able to overcome it,” McVay said. “I don’t think that’s a sustainable model and method for playing the kind of ball that we want to be able to play.”
Clean pocket
Despite the loud environment of Lumen Field, Stafford said he thought the team “did a great job of handling the noise.” The offensive line, a unit that struggled to stay on the field last season as the Rams started 12 different offensive line combinations through their first 13 games, didn’t allow a sack on Sunday. Stafford, who attempted 38 passes against Seattle, only took two quarterback hits, and was pressured on just 20.5% of his snaps, the third-worse rate for any team in Week 1.
“They did a great job and kept me clean and [I] was able to click through some progressions and hit some guys,” Stafford said.
This might be more of a challenge in Week 2 against the 49ers, a team that had five sacks, nine quarterback hits and eight tackles for a loss in their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. None of those sacks were even registered by Nick Bosa, who played in Week 1 after signing a contract that made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
Long drives
Six of the Rams’ nine offensive drives on Sunday went at least 9 plays, including a 16-play drive on their first possession. Los Angeles only had one three-and-out against Seattle. The Rams averaged 4:22 time of possession per drive on Sunday in Seattle. Last season, their high was 4:03 per game, but their average for the season was 2:52, which was 12th in the NFL. Their average plays per drive were their highest since the start of the 2022 season, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
McVay credited the complimentary football the Rams played on Sunday.
“They’re playing excellent third-down defense, they’re doing it really first, second and third down, they’re forcing punts, they’re getting off the grass, so they did an outstanding job,” McVay said. “And then for us, for the offense to be able to sustain possession is key and critical. We talk about playing complementary football all the time. I thought that was really on display yesterday.”
Healthy Stafford
Perhaps the most important part of this Rams offense and its ability to overcome Kupp’s absence is the play of Stafford, who checked “all the boxes” with his performance on Sunday, according to McVay. Stafford completed 24 of 38 passes for 334 yards against Seattle.
“I want to come out and play good football,” Stafford said. “I know I can when I’m healthy and I feel good, and I felt good today.”
Even before Stafford missed time in the concussion protocol last season while dealing with a spinal cord contusion, he was dealing with an elbow injury as well, one that kept him on a strict throwing schedule during training camp.
“He was sharp throughout the game,” McVay said. “There was a couple plays that — you show me a great quarterback, I’ll show you a guy that’s always going to want a couple plays back, [but] I thought he was best in those biggest moments.”
