Three Observations From Rams' Divisional Beatdown

Keeping Up the Pace

After momentarily surrendering the number one seed in the NFC to the Chicago Bears, the Rams are back in their rightful place as the top dog in their conference. This was a win they desperately needed to get back to having a chance at the first-round bye, but it also ensures they keep up the pace with the rest of their NFC West foes.

The Seattle Seahawks have the same record as the Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers are just one game behind. The only reason they have the lead is due to them splitting the divisional series with the 49ers and their win over the Seahawks in Week 11.

Their hopes of keeping their position atop the NFC West continue to hinge on their Week 16 rematch against the Seahawks. A loss there would be crushing, as they'd relinquish the division and the first-round bye two weeks before the playoffs start.

The Seahawks were in a dog fight with the Atlanta Falcons early, but then they blew the lid off the game with Sam Darnold finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba for multiple scores. The Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention with that loss, and while that's still beneficial for the Rams, they would've much preferred the Seahawks losing to give them some cushion down the stretch of the season.

Weaknesses Continue To Be Abundant

It's hard to find areas of improvement in such a blowout win, but the Rams' weaknesses continue to show themselves. Their secondary is an issue, and one they'd better hope doesn't come back to bite them in the playoffs.

Jacoby Brissett continued his streak of over 250 passing yards in every game he's played this season, with the majority of those yards coming from Michael Wilson. He had a blistering 11 catches for 142 yards and two receiving touchdowns, giving the Rams' secondary nightmares in coverage.

This is an inexcusable performance for their secondary. The Cardinals were only able to pick up 51 yards on the ground, so they knew that Brissett wanted to air the ball out. Granted, they were able to pick him off, and his only two touchdown passes came from Wilson. It's still something that needs to be worked on in the future.

Their defensive front played better, sacking Brissett three times, but will it be enough to contain teams in the postseason? I doubt it. The best the Rams can hope for is that their secondary continues to waver between okay and good, and their defensive line picks up the intensity in the playoffs.

RB Controversy?

Contrary to the Cardinals, the Rams found much success running the ball. They had a total of 249 yards on the ground, and two of their touchdowns came via short runs at the goal line. The star of their rushing attack wasn't Kyren Williams, as one would expect, but Blake Corum instead.

Corum had 12 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns, the majority of those yards coming from his 48-yard touchdown run to begin the 4th quarter. He was keeping pace with Williams all game, breaking off big run after big run.

The Rams gave Williams a contract extension earlier this season, so I doubt they move off of him anytime soon. However, Corum has made an interesting case to give him more carries and to approach this backfield as a committee.

This is Corum's biggest game of his career, so he's sure to come back to Earth, but he's proven that he's more than a reliable second-stringer. The Rams should give him more opportunities as the season winds down.