The Carolina Panthers made things difficult for the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, taking them down to the wire in the fourth quarter in what was a crazy wild-card opener. The Rams pulled out a dramatic 34-31 win on the road thanks to Matthew Stafford’s game-winning touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson in the final seconds, but it was Carolina that led with 2 minutes left.
By no means was it a clean game or a convincing win by the Rams as double-digit favorites, but they did enough to advance to the next round. Pro Football Focus’ grades put into perspective which players performed well, and which ones disappointed.
Puka Nacua was predictably one of the top players for L.A., but he didn’t have the highest grade on offense. That honor went to Alaric Jackson, who topped the offense with only a 79.0 grade.
The highest-graded player overall was Poona Ford at 89.5. No other player was graded above 80.0, which shows just how poorly the Rams played.
Here’s a look at the most notable grades on each side of the ball.
Top 5 offense
- LT Alaric Jackson: 79.0
- WR Puka Nacua: 76.9
- WR Konata Mumpfield: 70.6
- RB Kyren Williams: 69.5
- LG Steve Avila: 68.0
Top 5 defense
- DT Poona Ford: 89.5
- OLB Byron Young: 74.8
- OLB Jared Verse: 74.1
- CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr.: 72.5
- DL Ty Hamilton: 70.6
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Tyler Higbee: 60.4
- TE Colby Parkinson
- TE Davis Allen: 56.5
- WR Tutu Atwell: 50.6
- WR Xavier Smith: 42.7
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Cobie Durant: 52.6
- DL Braden Fiske: 50.1
- DB Quentin Lake: 49.5
- OLB Desjuan Johnson: 49.0
- LB Omar Speights: 41.9
Other notables
- DT Kobie Turner: 63.9
- WR Davante Adams: 63.4
- QB Matthew Stafford: 63.0
- S Kamren Kinchens: 62.2
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: LA Rams PFF grades: Best, worst players in win vs. Panthers