What We Saw: Week 1

Rams @ Lions

Final Score: Lions 26 – Rams 20 (OT)

Writer: Brendan Boe (@BeeBoeFF on Twitter)

Our first Sunday night game of the season was a clash of the former quarterbacks: Goff and Stafford faced their past teams, which drafted them with respective #1 overall picks. This was already a juicy narrative, but both teams’ elite weapons in the rushing and receiving game compound this to make for an extra exciting primetime duel. That said, if you tuned in for the first half, you were mostly disappointed – the 1st touchdown didn’t occur until after the 2-minute warning. The pace picked up in the 2nd half, but considering the over/under was 53.5 before kickoff, it wasn’t the shootout I had anticipated.

Two Up

• Cooper Kupp – 21 targets! Are you kidding me?! We know he’s a stud, but this volume is insane. If you drafted Kupp, you’re very happy.
• Jameson Williams – The breakout is here and the Lions now have their deep threat. He was practically the entire passing attack in this game.

Two Down

• Amon-Ra St. Brown – 6 targets, but only 13 yards on 3 catches. Don’t sound the alarm, but this isn’t what you want from a first round pick in week 1.
• Sam LaPorta – He’s a tight end so 4 catches for 45 yards is gonna happen sometimes, but considering he was the #1 TE in 2023, we were hoping for more.

Rams

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford: 34/49, 317 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 2 Carries, 13 Yards

Despite spreading the ball around, he significantly favored Cooper Kupp before and after the injury to Puka Nacua. It wasn’t enough to win, but Stafford and this offense have again shown that they plan to throw the ball a lot. There was some apprehension in the 1st quarter, but Stafford seemed to gain more trust in his line starting in the 2nd quarter as he made more reads before releasing the ball (usually to Kupp, of course). There were some errors, particularly a poor read that ended with an interception in the red zone just before the end of the 1st half. He also missed out on a golden opportunity to get a touchdown with only 1 yard to go on a 1st down; this could’ve been a game-winner.

Running Back

Kyren Williams: 18 Carries, 50 Yards, 1 TD | 3 Catches, 4 Yards

With the clear workhorse role on this team, Kyren received 18 of the 20 total running back carries. Only a handful of snaps were ceded to teammate Ronnie Rivers as Kyren was the goal line back, schemed for the two-minute drill, and utilized in the passing game with 3 catches from 4 targets. He wasn’t as efficient as one would hope in this particular matchup, but the abundance of opportunities is promising and he expressed a willingness to fight for tough yards.

Ronnie Rivers: 2 Carries, 16 Yards

Surprisingly, Rivers was ahead of Blake Corum despite being listed 3rd on the depth chart. He had minimal work and snaps and was most likely put in to give Kyren Williams some rest.

Blake Corum: 0 Carries, 0 Yards

He didn’t touch the ball this game. At all. He’s being brought up here because he was most likely drafted in your league. I’m not offering advice on this situation, but stating the facts: he was entirely uninvolved.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Cooper Kupp: 14 Catches, 110 Yards, 1 TD | 2 Carries, 10 Yards

The Breakfast Club is back together as Matthew Stafford and Kupp displayed that their connection is as strong as ever. Kupp dominated the target volume across the entire offense with nearly 43% of all team targets! Ridiculous passing volume. We know how talented this former triple-crown earner is, and he once again put it on display with elite awareness, control, and utilization all over the field. Particular plays that stood out were a toe tap to stay in bounds for a crucial 1st down, plus a great use of motion to trick defenders pre-snap and create space for a touchdown. Sure, his teammate Puka Nacua was injured (hope he’s okay), but Kupp already had 9 targets in the 1st half which accounted for over 34% of the team’s target share, meaning this volume was prevalent even before the injury. Seeing how much work he got in this game is a blessing for all Rams fans and Kupp devotees.

Puka Nacua: 4 Catches, 35 Yards | 1 Carry, 7 Yards

Despite a slow start to the game, Puka was utilized in multiple facets and performed well in all of them as he caught all his targets for 35 yards and added a carry for 7 on the ground. Unfortunately, an injury to his right knee ruled him out for the remainder of the game, and hopefully, it’s nothing serious. His situation needs monitoring as more details will come soon.

Demarcus Robinson: 4 Catches, 42 Yards

Robinson made some critical plays to keep the Rams in this game. His stat line is misleading as he didn’t have a great fantasy output, but his impact on this game was necessary with multiple 1st down conversions in key situations, including converting a 4th down. He also received a deep end zone target but it was broken up due to pass interference.

Colby Parkinson: 4 Catches, 47 Yards

The veteran tight end stepped up as needed and played commendably as their starter. In the 2nd drive alone he had 25 yards on 2 catches, and later had a 20-yard gain down the sideline. Though not a primary target, he was valuable as a 2nd or 3rd read on this offense with the loss of Puka Nacua. His only error was dropping a short pass that bounced off his hands.

Tyler Johnson: 5 Catches, 79 Yards

Though mostly quiet in this game, Johnson ended up with a respectable 5 catches from 7 targets, with the vast majority of his yards coming from a sensational 63-yard catch and run. He also made a nice dive to catch the ball for a 1st down, helping the Rams keep the ball moving down the field. Outside of these great plays, he didn’t stand out much on this offense.

Lions

Quarterback

Jared Goff: 18/28, 217 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 1 Carry, 7 Yards

This offense leaned heavily on the run game while, outside of Jameson Williams, the pass catchers were quiet. Goff made some questionable decisions, such as his lone interception when trying to get the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown, but I also found it curious when he took too long to make a pass with few seconds left in the half, leading to being sacked. Heck, the 1st drive of the game was a 3 and out with a sack for a loss of 9 yards, but in the end, the Lions did win the game so his game management wasn’t all that bad. In terms of stats, Goff has certainly had better in the past, but nothing in this game has cause for concern on his performance in the long term.

Running Back

David Montgomery: 17 Carries, 91 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Catch, 2 Yards

Starting the game with the 1st carry in the backfield, Montgomery was utilized as a power runner throughout this matchup and had heavier usage in the 1st quarter with 7 carries. He demonstrated his prowess as a power runner early and often as he was willing to fight for yards and was trusted to gain multiple 1st downs by plowing straight through the middle of the line. He had more than double the rushing yards on 6 more carries against teammate Jahmyr Gibbs, but with only 1 catch for 2 yards, it’s clear that Montgomery’s role in this offense is a bruiser who gets yards through sheer force and toughness.

Jahmyr Gibbs: 11 Carries, 40 Yards, 1 TD | 4 Catches, 34 Yards

Nearly invisible in the 1st quarter, he saw the bulk of his carries starting in their final drive of the 2nd quarter. On a positive note, he was schemed in the red zone as he was given multiple carries inside the 10-yard line and powered down the middle for the 1st touchdown of the game. While he had fewer carries than David Montgomery, Gibbs is the de facto receiving back with 4 catches on 6 targets; there were only 7 total running back targets on this team. Furthermore, Gibbs was utilized in the 2-minute drill, which can be extremely valuable touches as the team has a race against the clock to get points before the clock runs out.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Jameson Williams: 5 Catches, 121 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Carry, 13 Yards

The Lions finally have their deep threat! The 3rd year speedster delivered on his 1st round 2022 draft stock, showing incredible speed and versatile usage. On top of the huge 52-yard touchdown, he had a massive catch and run for 37 yards, and another 28-yard play down the sideline from a catch on a cross-route. The Lions weren’t afraid to get the ball in JaMo’s hands, and he proved to be the effective player we’ve all been anticipating for the last 2 years. The next few weeks will be telling as teammates Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta both performed below expectations in this match, but the important takeaway here is that Williams can deliver on his hype, and I’m excited to see more from him this season.

Amon-Ra St. Brown: 3 Catches, 13 Yards

Despite 6 targets, the Sun God couldn’t get much done. The Lions ran the ball a lot and, as a result, most pass catchers were unproductive, but one would’ve expected more from the clear #1, elite receiving talent on this team. With the few opportunities, he received a red-zone look and displayed elusiveness when juking a defender. 13 yards is heartbreaking for your 1st round pick, but better days are ahead for Amon-Ra.

Sam LaPorta: 4 Catches, 45 Yards

He had a couple of great catches in crucial situations, but as mentioned earlier, most of the Lions passing attack was less than productive in this game. The important takeaway is that Jared Goff trusts him in short-yardage plays, but also LaPorta had decent yards after catch, plus the ability to make plays in tight coverage. There was one red zone target that tipped off his fingers in the end zone, but to be fair there was heavy coverage. The former #1 overall TE had an average performance for the position, but great expectations are attached to this player.

Kalif Raymond: 1 Carry, 12 Yards

Brock Wright: 1 Catch, 2 Yards