Here are Pro Football Focus’ notes on the Los Angeles Rams’ 34-0 Week 2 blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals.
OFFENSE
– In his second game as a Los Angeles Ram, wide receiver Brandin Cooks finished as the highest graded player on offense with at least 10 snaps played (87.3). He was targeted seven times in between the numbers of the field and of his seven receptions, six of them went for a first down. Through two games Cooks has averaged 3.67 yards gained per route run on 67 snaps in route. His mark is third most among 53 receivers with at least 10 targets.
– Veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth saw himself play all 72 snaps in the Rams’ victory over the Cardinals. Of those 72 snaps, 36 were pass-blocking snaps and not one of those snaps yielded a quarterback pressure. Whitworth finished as the only starting offensive lineman to not allow a quarterback pressure and finished the game with an 89.1 pass-blocking grade. This was the highest pass-blocking grade earned by Whitworth since joining the Rams in 2017 and his first game since week 10 of last season to allow zero pressures.
DEFENSE
– Rams fans got a glimpse of what the duo of interior defenders in Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh can do to an opposing offensive line. They combined to generate nine of the defense’s 15 total quarterback pressures, five for Suh and four for Donald, respectively. Donald added four defensive stops to edge Suh in overall grade (92.3), but Suh’s elite (90.0+) 90.5 grade was his highest graded game since week two of the 2017 season.
– Throwing in cornerback Aqib Talib’s coverage was not a good idea for the Arizona Cardinals. Talib played 21 snaps in coverage against the Cardinals and saw three targets as the primary defender in coverage. He did not allow one catch and broke up the other two targets to allow a passer rating of 39.6. Through two games Talib has been targeted five times and has only allowed one catch for 12 yards and a passer rating of 39.6.