Rams All-22 Review: Key Takeaways vs. Houston

Since entering the NFL in 2023, wide receiver Puka Nacua has been one of the most productive playmakers in the league. Head coach Sean McVay's usage of him has evolved in the last two years, and with Cooper Kupp now in Seattle, Nacua takes over his role in the slot where he was asked plenty on Sunday to run choice routes and read defensive coverages on the fly. It worked with a 10-catch, 130-yard day on 11 targets.

According to NFL Pro and Next Gen Stats, Nacua was utilized in the slot for a career-high 44.4 percent of his snaps this past week and tallied his second-most yardage from this spot with 78. With Davante Adams on the perimeter, McVay can mix and match with his talented pass-catchers. It was also the coach's creativity that led them to victory.

The first play I want to highlight here is Nacua's first catch out of his concussion evaluation, where he needed a patch above his right eye. He does a great job of eating cushion and leans into No. 5 Jalen Pitre’s inside leverage with a good break at the top of the route and a nice catch in traffic. This is just one of many examples in the three seasons of his career where he has excellent hands, route running, and seems to have a handle on choice routes with good reads, showing ample football intelligence.

This next play was the game-clincher late in the fourth quarter, following the forced fumble by Landman just a few plays earlier. McVay called a similar play with the run concept attachment for the previous two snaps beforehand. Once again, it is a similar concept (stack WRs to the wide side, two TEs to the tight side) with Nacua motioning into the formation as a sniffer H-back inside the left tackle and guard.

The motion draws Pitre, and Nacua then sells the blocks with the defender biting down hard and compromising his base. Nacua then runs an Omaha concept to the wide side off of the collision, and 24 yards plus a couple of kneels later, the Rams are victorious. A round of applause for Nacua and McVay.

Beaux Limmer shines in season debut as emergency backup guard

After starting a center for a significant amount of his rookie year, Limmer was relegated to a backup role, though he remains in Los Angeles's plans at the position. For the moment, he is the team's reliable interior backup and showed why in place of the injured Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson.

Limmer did a great job of getting to his landmarks in the run game, especially to the second level. His eyes remained active and always looked for work to assist left tackle Alaric Jackson on an island. Limmer's leverage was compromised at times, but he showcased his ability to get into space very quickly, displaying great functional athleticism while working well on duo blocks.

Nate Landman and Jared Verse shine in season debuts

General manager Les Snead nailed both of these players: Verse in the NFL Draft last year and Landman in free agency this year. The two key defensive starters made significant impacts, with Landman earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors while Verse tallied four pressures and displayed his ability to consistently attack the quarterback. His last pressure was against a duo turned triple team, almost Aaron Donald-esque in his speed-to-power against the Texans.

Lanadman (10 tackles, one forced fumble) had about as good a showing as you’d want from your new starting MIKE linebacker, finishing tackles well, playing with good eyes and fits in the run game, staying disciplined against the run, and offering awesome effort to make rally tackles. However, he was sufficient, not great in coverage, but good enough in shallow drops.

Quick-hitting notes from the All-22

• Matthew Stafford was fantastic, as always, with amazing throws to all three levels of the field. Even with a bad back and little mobility left, his steps as a true pocket passer allowed him to be a cerebral signal-caller.

• Alaric Jackson was outstanding on an island, basically keeping Danielle Hunter and others quiet on his side for most of the game. He was quick out of his stance, disciplined in his sets, and featured good placement while working downhill and hitting his landmarks in the run game.

• Defensive coordinator Chris Shula was outstanding as a play-caller against the Texans' offense, providing different looks on every down, having his defense execute well, and putting quarterback C.J. Stroud in compromising situations. Folks, we could be looking at a future NFL head coach sooner than later, especially if the Rams' defense takes a crucial next step.

Check back in next week for the newest All-22 review from the Rams game in Nashville. Don't forget to follow along with on X (formerly known as Twitter) @RamsInsideronSI and @BrockVierra for all of the latest news, analysis, and breaking news stories on Los Angeles.