The Los Angeles Rams nabbed a crucial win against the Chargers in the “Battle for LA,” crawling their way to a 4-4 record. But let’s be real, this 0-7 Chargers squad is scraping the bottom of the league barrel, and that victory did absolutely zero to inspire any real confidence for what’s coming next. This offense feels straight-up disjointed and untalented, even with the defense doing its thing. Still, the mission got accomplished, and the Rams are out of the hole they dug early in the season.
Blake Corum Was The Only Spark
If this Rams offense is gonna go anywhere, it’s gotta go through Blake Corum. For most of the season, they’ve been desperate for a spark plug, and turns out the answer was right there the whole time. When Corum is locked in and making plays, the offense looks the best it has all year. He tore it up with 11 rushes for 73 yards, averaging a wild 6.6 yards a carry, including a 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter that completely flipped the momentum. Kyren Williams added 16 carries for 56 yards and a short touchdown, though his average took a hit closing out the game. You gotta shout out the offensive line too, because Matthew Stafford only got sacked once. The ground game was slow in the first half but came alive in the second, totally changing the script and sealing the deal.
What Puka Nacua’s Heavy Workload Won’t Tell You
The game plan feels like it’s down to just two options: feed the ball to Puka Nacua or hope Corum makes magic happen. Nacua has been battling injuries all season, and honestly, he just doesn’t look like the Offensive Player of the Year candidate we saw tearing it up in 2025. Even so, the Rams run their entire offense through him. He had another massive workload against the Chargers, hauling in 11 catches on 12 targets for 80 yards, plus a touchdown on a screen. But if we’re nitpicking, and we should be, his ability to stretch the field vertically is gone. That’s the element that made him so dangerous last year. Can the Rams and Nacua figure out how to get that back? Because without it, this offense is gonna be seriously limited.
The Defense Stepped Up, But For How Long?
While the offense sputtered and stumbled through large portions of the game, the defense was stifling. To be fair, Justin Herbert may as well have been wearing a Rams jersey with how often he just handed the ball over. Quentin Lake grabbed an interception off Herbert in the first quarter, which was huge. The good news is, two very winnable games are on the horizon against the Washington Commanders and the Arizona Cardinals. Stack up those wins, and the Rams could find themselves at 6-4. But if the offense can’t find its identity and get Nacua back to stretching the field, those “winnable” games are gonna be a lot tougher than they look right now. This team needs more than just beating basement dwellers to prove they’re for real.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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