First came self-reflection, followed quickly by self-correction.
After rushing for eight touchdowns in six games, last Monday’s defeat by the Miami Dolphins marked the third consecutive game Rams running back Kyren Williams did not run for a touchdown.
That Williams was running behind yet another offensive line combination did not matter. Nor did the fact that the line, by coach Sean McVay’s account, played poorly.
Williams rushed for 62 yards in 15 carries and lost a fumble.
“I got this feeling of not being good enough,” Williams said of his postgame mindset, “and just not being that person who I thought I was.”
That changed after Williams watched the game video.
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“It was just like, ‘Oh, it’s all still right there,’” he said. “And I got this feeling, like… ‘now it’s time to really turn it up.’”
Williams will get his opportunity Sunday when the Rams (4-5) play the New England Patriots (3-7) at Gillette Stadium.
The Rams rebounded from their 1-4 start by winning three games in a row, but they rushed for only 68 yards in their Nov. 3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and only 70 in the 23-15 loss to the Dolphins.
The Rams are averaging 94.1 yards rushing per game, which ranks 26th among 32 NFL teams.
On a team that features quarterback Matthew Stafford and receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the Rams’ offense operates best when the rushing attack sets up optimal passing situations.
So how can McVay get Williams and the rushing game going?
“Where do you want me to start?” McVay said. “There are a lot of layers to this.”
Left tackle Alaric Jackson’s two-game suspension at the start of the season and injuries suffered by center Jonah Jackson, left guard Steve Avila and swing tackle Joe Noteboom in the opener against the Detroit Lions have prevented the Rams from fielding the front they projected before the season.
But Jonah Jackson, Avila and Noteboom, who started in place of injured right tackle Rob Havenstein, returned to play against the Dolphins. Stafford was sacked four times and the Rams once again failed to establish a rushing attack.
A lack of offensive line continuity is “a big part” of the Rams’ problem, McVay said.
“There’s a rapport that’s established between the player next to you, especially in some of the different schemes when you are working in concert or combination with guys that we haven’t had the chance to be able to develop,” he said. “I think that’s affected us, but … people have to be able to deal with that. We have to be better.”
And not just the players, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said.
“It’s all of our problem, starting with coaching,” LaFleur said. “We got to get it fixed on our end first — the players will follow suit.”
Williams insists he must be better too. The constant realignment of the line, he said, should not affect him because he is responsible for setting up blocks.
“So it doesn’t really matter who’s in there,” he said. “I know with my reads and my tracks, I’m going to set them up to be successful.”
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In 2023, Williams played in 12 games and rushed for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 95.3 yards per game and five yards per carry. He also caught three touchdown passes.
Through nine games this season, he has rushed for 664 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 73.8 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. He has two touchdown catches.
“I’m slowly progressing,” Williams said when asked to assess his performance in the first half of the season. “There’s some things I’m getting better at, and some things I need to keep working on, like ball security.
“But there’s a lot of things I feel like are going in the right direction.”
Williams said he believes in patterns, so he aims to repeat what occurred in the second half of the 2023 season.
Williams had rushed for 456 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the first six games before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined him for four games.
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After he returned, he rushed for 688 yards and scored eight touchdowns in six games, including four in which he rushed for more than 100 yards.
Rams players are confident they can once again get the running game going.
Right guard Kevin Dotson, the only starter who has played every game, said that although the Miami game did not go well, it provided the three lineman returning from injuries to get re-acclimated to game speed and communicating as a group.
“I think this next game will be our proving game,” Dotson said.
Williams sounded as if he felt the same.
“You’ve got to really fight out of the position you’re in — and that’s where I thrive, when it’s my time to go,” he said. “And so that’s kind of how I’m looking at it, and I’ve kind of got this feeling I’m going to be like that too.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
