What We Saw: Week 12

Series Navigation

Rams @ Packers

Final Score: Packers 36, Rams 28

Writer: Ryan Radel (@RadelFF on Twitter)

Considering this game was played in Green Bay, the weather could’ve been a lot worse than the low-30 degrees without snow for this matchup between the Rams and the Packers. Fueled by 11 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the Rams fought hard to keep up with the high-powered Packers offense. The Packers took better care of the ball while scoring 16 points off of turnovers. The Rams, on the other hand, had a few very costly mistakes, spelling doom for the boys from LA. Even on a bad toe, Aaron Rodgers continues to lead the Packers on their playoff run as they march their way to 9-3. The Rams fall to 7-4 now having lost three in a row. They are still in the playoff hunt, but some lingering injury concerns may derail their hopes.

Los Angeles Rams

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford: 21/38, 302 yards, 3 TD, INT, 2 Sacks, Fumble | 1 carry, -yard

Matthew Stafford started this season absolutely on fire but has since cooled off dramatically. Losing Robert Woods was a blow, but reports are out that Stafford is experiencing pain in the elbow on his throwing arm as well as dealing with a chronic back issue alongside a sore ankle. While this will not put his availability in question, I am concerned with his production moving forward. He still needs some time to get on the same page with Odell Beckham Jr, which will undoubtedly help the passing game, but I would definitely make sure you have a backup plan for the rest of your fantasy season. I’m not sure what was the root cause, but Stafford had a terrible pick-six towards the end of the third quarter to go along with a fumble to start the game. He simply needs to take better care of the ball. That’s now three straight games with a pick-six. Stafford still has a cannon though, that’s for sure:

First TD as a Ram‼️

📺 @NFLonFOX | @OBJ pic.twitter.com/Osr1qSqx4H

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 29, 2021

Running Back

Darrell Henderson Jr.: 16 carries, 55 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 18 yards, TD

Sony Michel: 3 carries, 14 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards

Darrell Henderson continues to be the clear-cut lead back in Los Angeles as he out-touched Sony Michel 20-4 on the day. Without Robert Woods, the Rams needed to get others involved in the passing game, so it was great to see Henderson catch this short toss for a score. 20 touches a game is fantastic for fantasy football purposes, but if the trend of redzone targets continues, Henderson might be in a position to finish the year on a tear.

That’s elite ball placement!

📺 @NFLonFOX | @DarrellH8 pic.twitter.com/nRQMARd0Lh

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 28, 2021

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Cooper Kupp: 10 targets, 7 receptions, 96 yards

Van Jefferson: 9 targets, 3 receptions, 93 yards, TD

Odell Beckham Jr: 10 targets, 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD

Tyler Higbee: 5 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards

J.J. Koski: Fumble (Lost)

While I was not shocked because I watched the game, I would’ve been totally shocked to see Stafford throwing three touchdowns and none of them going to Cooper Kupp. With this yardage in this game, Kupp has now exceeded his career-high season yardage, set in 2019, and it’s only Week 12. His usage in LA this year has been league-winner-worthy, and if he stays healthy, that should continue to be the case. It seems like 10 targets are his floor as he is consistently the first read.

Van Jefferson is stepping into his elevated role nicely as he brought in a huge 79-yard score early in the game, but you’d love to see more than three catches on nine targets. As a younger player, I believe his concentration will develop and some of these will turn into catches, but for now, he isn’t there yet.

Odell Beckham Jr. came up hobbling after his first touchdown with the Rams, but he was involved in the offense early and often. If he stays healthy, he could return to his previous form in this offense. He did seem to be grabbing at his back throughout the game, so monitor that moving forward. While Van Jefferson is getting a lot of targets now, I do expect Odell to eventually surpass him as he settles into the Rams offense.

Tyler Higbee was a non-factor as he was smothered all day by Packers defenders. Special teamer J.J. Koski had a very costly fumble on a punt return as well.

Toe-tappin'.

📺 @NFLonFOX | @CooperKupp pic.twitter.com/dgA6WDPmo1

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 29, 2021

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers: 28/45, 307 yards, 2 TD, Sack | 2 carries, 1 yard, TD

Aaron Rodgers simply makes this look too easy sometimes. It wasn’t a great game statistically, but the defense set up Rodgers to go into manager-mode rather than MVP-mode. Unlike his counterpart on the Rams, A-Rod took care of the ball on the way to an easy victory on the legs of his running backs and the defense. Rodgers had missed practice time this week due to a toe injury, but it didn’t look like that mattered whatsoever once he hit the field. Whatever your thoughts are on how Aaron Rodgers has carried himself recently, you have to respect the way he plays the game:

.@AaronRodgers12 to @rcobb18!

TOUCHDOWN! 🙌 #LARvsGB | #GoPackGo

📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/PFOySe6nvi

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 28, 2021

Running Back

A.J. Dillon: 20 carries, 69 yards | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 21 yards, TD

Aaron Jones: 10 carries, 23 yards | 1 target

With the health of Aaron Jones a big concern coming into this game, the odds were pretty good that we were going to see A.J. Dillon run the rock, which is something I really happen to enjoy watching. Jones was still involved but wasn’t a major factor with his 10 touches. While he was active, I don’t believe he was completely healthy and was out there to distract the defense more than anything. That’s certainly how it looked when he ran. Dillon wasn’t the most efficient with his 20 carries on the ground, but his running style tired the defense out as the game went on. He was able to make the defense pay on this nice angle route out of the backfield, securing a dart from Rodgers before dragging some defenders into the end zone (and busting out a sick dance move):

.@ajdillon7 with the catch!

TOUCHDOWN! 🙌 #LARvsGB | #GoPackGo

📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/sfLRAnVjmn

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 28, 2021

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Davante Adams: 9 targets, 8 receptions, 104 yards

Randall Cobb: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 95 yards, TD, Fumble

Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 50 yards

Allen Lazard: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards

Josiah Deguara: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards

Equanimeous St. Brown: 2 targets, 1 reception, 7 yards

Marcedes Lewis: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 4 yards

Randall Cobb continues to benefit from his relationship with Rodgers, especially in the red zone. While his targets were fourth on the team, he did a ton of damage with them. Marquez Valdes-Scantling garnered as many targets as Davante Adams, but he continues to underwhelm with them as he only secured four for 54 yards. Allen Lazard and Equanimeous St. Brown had fairly quiet games, although Lazard was targeted six times. Unfortunately, this tied a season-high for targets for Lazard, so I doubt it will be consistent. St. Brown had the chance for an insane bobbling catch as he fell to the ground with two defenders but unfortunately wasn’t able to secure the ball. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Davante Adams is still the favorite target in this passing game. Securing eight of nine targets but lacking a score, this was a “floor” game for Davante. He didn’t really need to do anything in order to win, much like his QB. He still casually beats triple coverage for fun, though: