New York Giants vs. St. Louis Rams: Full Report Card Grades for St. Louis
The St. Louis Rams (6-9) suffered a surprising 37-27 loss to the New York Giants (6-9).
The St. Louis defense was dominant in its previous three games. Since this was the home finale, most were expecting the Rams to muster up another gritty effort and shut down the New York offense, but the team was completely lifeless and overwhelmed.
Poor tackling, terrible pressure and clueless coverage sank the Rams on defense, but the offense made its mistakes too. We saw terrible passes by Shaun Hill, dumb penalties and two early turnovers that handed New York 10 easy points.
Now, the best St. Louis can do is seven wins on the season, which will match the win total of the previous two seasons under Jeff Fisher. And even that is a long shot, considering the final game is in Seattle (the Rams haven't won in that venue in a decade).
Overall, this game was a failure on every level. The team should be embarrassed for putting on such a lackluster performance for the fans during the home finale.
This article will break down each position and assign a grade, which will be based on stats, consistency and game-changing plays.
Quarterback: C-
1 of 8
Other units will take a lot of heat after these past two games, but believe it or not, the quarterback position is still contributing to every loss and remains a huge offseason priority.
Hill had some decent moments, but that's it. His accuracy has been suspect all season, and he was terribly inaccurate at times in this game.
He underthrew Kenny Britt on a deep ball that should have gone for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he overthrew a wide-open Jared Cook about 20 yards downfield, and he threw a wide pass to Chris Givens the very next play.
Even when he hit Givens for the deep touchdown at the end, when there was no defender within 20 yards of the receiver, Givens had to completely stop in his tracks to secure the weak pass.
On the last play of the second half, when the Rams went for the touchdown with no timeouts and only nine seconds remaining, Hill threw away the ball even though Stedman Bailey was open in the end zone (though he had to recover from a bad snap).
It's not all on the quarterback—the Rams defense was the real culprit, and Hill's protection was pretty awful—but it remains clear that the position continues to hold back this team.
It's becoming obvious that Hill is not a suitable backup plan behind Sam Bradford. The position will be a major priority this offseason.
Running Back: B+
2 of 8
The running game was surprisingly solid in this game, and it's a shame the Rams didn't show more of a commitment to the run.
Tre Mason had 76 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. He continues to get fewer carries than he deserves—he has 20 or more carries in only two games this season.
Tavon Austin also added some pop as a runner. He scrambled for 25 yards on three carries, including a 19-yard run.
We also saw the forgotten Zac Stacy get some action, but he had just two touches for six yards.
Mason continues to show that he's one of the more productive and dangerous weapons on offense. It's frustrating to see his role limited on a weekly basis.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A
3 of 8
The receivers were excellent in this game. We saw plenty of separation, good routes and some impressive overall production.
Kenny Britt led the way with nine grabs for 103 yards. He now has 710 yards on the year, giving the Rams their first 700-yard receiver since Torry Holt in 2008. He's also 66 yards away from breaking his 775-yard career high from 2010.
Jared Cook takes a lot of heat, but the tight end added five grabs for 41 yards. Despite the criticism, he's the second-leading receiver on the team and continues to make plays. He's 74 yards away from matching his 671 yards in 2013, which was a St. Louis franchise record for yards by a tight end.
Cook wasn't the only tight end to get involved. Lance Kendricks added two grabs, including a 23-yard touchdown.
We also saw Givens come back from the dead and record his first catch in six weeks, a 47-yard touchdown.
It was a very good day for the receivers. This team has weapons—they just need to be utilized properly.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line: D-
4 of 8
It wasn't the same level of domination we saw a week ago against Arizona, but it was still another miserable outing for the St. Louis offensive line.
Scott Wells continues to be a disaster at center for St. Louis. When the Rams had a chance to go for the touchdown at the end of the first half, a bad Wells snap spoiled the play. He added another bad snap on the final drive that went over Hill's head, and that wrapped up the game.
This is stating the obvious a bit, but center will be a huge offseason priority.
In fact, the entire right side of the line continues to disappoint. Right guard Davin Joseph is overwhelmed on practically every snap, and right tackle Joe Barksdale has regressed.
With Barksdale, it's best to reserve judgement. Considering who the Rams have manning the two spots to his left, it's understandable that he gets beat frequently. There's no help on his side whatsoever.
The only thing saving this group from an "F" is the fact that the run blocking was decent. The Rams should have stuck with a more run-oriented approach, but that's what happens when you're playing catchup all game—you get stuck passing the ball behind a group that's incapable of pass blocking.
The mantra for most of the season has been "The Rams are just a quarterback away." Thanks to the offensive line, many are challenging that slogan as optimistic at best.
Defensive Line: D
5 of 8
The defensive line must have slept in a little too late. The group was groggy, weak, lazy and flat out not effective.
The supposedly fierce St. Louis pass rush recorded just one sack in the game, and that came from safety T.J. McDonald.
The Giants offensive line did an excellent job neutralizing the blitzes and containing the pressure. All-Pro defensive end Robert Quinn barely had his name called all afternoon—it was as if he never took the field at all.
Unstoppable rookie Aaron Donald suddenly appeared stoppable, and Chris Long, who was eager to return from a lengthy injury, appeared to be anything but eager.
With a few extra days' rest the past week, this group should have been fired up and ready to put on a show for the home finale. Instead, they threw back about three Ambien each before kickoff and took an off day.
Linebackers: F
6 of 8
With no playoff berth, the team starts its offseason vacation a week from tomorrow, and it appears some players are getting an early start.
That's really the only explanation. The players must have had surfing and skiing on their minds, because they sure could care less about tackling and making plays, at least based on what we witnessed.
The run defense by the St. Louis linebackers was laughable. The linebackers allowed an irrelevant undrafted rookie named Orleans Darkwa to scramble for a 12-yard touchdown inside the red zone. His skill set has barely allowed him to make an NFL roster, yet he turned the Rams defense inside out on that run.
Meanwhile, Andre Williams slaughtered the Rams for 110 yards on 26 carries, including a 45-yard run.
The Rams have been tough on the run in recent weeks, but so much for that. This group cannot be counted on to remain consistent on a week-to-week basis.
Secondary: F
7 of 8
The media will replay Odell Beckham Jr.'s 80-yard touchdown and drool over his superb talent and killer moves, but that's not what St. Louis fans will see. Instead, they'll see a secondary that totally ignored Beckham and did not even attempt to cover him.
Not that anyone's denying Beckham's talent, but how much skill does it take to secure an 80-yard bomb when the absent-minded defender forgot about you 30 yards ago?
It was like seeing a criminal sneak through a security checkpoint while the guards are busy patting down a harmless old lady. In that scenario, is the criminal really that stealthy, or are the guards just that incompetent?
Outside of Beckham's touchdown, we also saw Eli Manning complete 78 percent of his throws, Janoris Jenkins drop his third pick in two games and incredibly weak run support by the whole unit.
Rookie E.J. Gaines—the best defensive back on the team—was in and out of the game with multiple injuries, and that hurt the group immensely, but that's still no excuse. The entire secondary was terrible.
Special Teams: B+
8 of 8
The special teams started off on a very poor note with a Benny Cunningham fumble in the first quarter that led to easy points for the Giants, but the group solidified as the game progressed.
Greg Zuerlein booted a 51-yard bomb to give St. Louis its first points of the game, which is no small feat because Zuerlein has struggled with his focus lately.
Later on, Tavon Austin added a 41-yard return on a punt. He continues to be a dangerous weapon on special teams, and at least that's one area where Brian Schottenheimer can't prevent him from getting touches.
However, the signature play for special teams came on the Giants' last drive of the game. New York lined up for a field-goal attempt, but linebacker Daren Bates blocked it.
Will Herring, knowing that a simple recovery would do St. Louis no good down by 10 points with only two minutes remaining, made the smart move of scooping up the ball and returning it instead of just falling on it. He didn't have a clear path to take it all the way, but he at least had a chance.
The game was thought to be over, but Bates and Herring never gave up and nearly made a miraculous play that could have put St. Louis in a position to make an unlikely comeback. As a result, these two guys deserve the game ball.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
