Studs and duds from Rams’ Week 12 loss: Donald dominates, Goff falters

The Rams had an opportunity to pull further ahead in the NFC West with a win over the 49ers and a loss by the Seahawks on Monday night, but that chance slipped away when San Francisco came into SoFi Stadium and left with a win.

The 49ers once again pulled off the upset against the Rams, winning 23-20 on Sunday afternoon. The defense did enough to win the game, but the offense didn’t match that level of play, primarily because of Jared Goff’s inability to take care of the ball.

Here are the studs and duds from the Rams’ Week 12 loss.

Stud: Aaron Donald

After two games in a row without a single tackle, Donald reminded everyone just how dominant he is. He stuffed the stat sheet with five tackles (one for a loss), one sack, four QB hits, a batted pass that resulted in an interception and a forced fumble, which was returned by Troy Hill for a touchdown. https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1333190995639296000 He was borderline unblockable against San Francisco, which had very few answers for the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Stud: Matt Gay

Don’t look now, but the Rams might have a decent kicker on their hands. For the first time since Week 4, Los Angeles didn’t miss a single kick in a game. Gay made field goals of 41 and 48 yards, and also made both of his extra point attempts. On kickoffs, all five of his boots went for touchbacks, which is an encouraging trend after the Rams struggled to kick it deep enough with Samuel Sloman and Kai Forbath back there. Gay has looked confident and sharp in his first two games.

Stud: Cam Akers

Akers rushed for 84 yards on nine carries, a good chunk of which came on one 61-yard scamper. But he also had two other runs of 6 yards each and made good reads of his blockers at the line, unlike Darrell Henderson. His explosiveness was on full display, once again catching the attention of his coaches and teammates. “I thought Cam Akers did a great job with his long run and then being able to finish that drive off with two hard runs in the red zone,” McVay said after the game. Akers did it all himself on that drive, carrying it three times for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Stud: John Johnson

Johnson didn’t pick off any passes and cause any turnovers, but he had a nice game against the 49ers. He broke up two passes, one of which he nearly picked off and the other coming on a key third down that forced the 49ers to settle for a field goal. He added seven tackles, too, coming up in run support often.

Stud: Morgan Fox

Fox doesn’t get much attention for the Rams, but he made three tackles, had one sack and made a stop in the backfield. He also recovered a fumble that was forced out by Sebastian Joseph-Day. Fox has become a key player in the Rams’ defensive line rotation, helping stop the run and provide a spark as a pass rusher – more so than Michael Brockers.

Dud: Jared Goff

This game doesn’t fall squarely on Goff’s shoulders, but he deserves much of the blame. He turned the ball over three times, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble – all of which were very avoidable. Like Sean McVay said, he has to be better about taking care of the football because if not, the Rams aren’t going to win many games giving it away four times like they did on Sunday. He completed just 19 of 31 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, getting outplayed by Nick Mullens.

Duds: Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson

It’s rare that Brown fumbles the ball, giving it up just twice in his career prior to Sunday’s game. But he fumbled on the Rams’ opening drive, which was the start of their deflating first-half performance. He also only gained 4 yards on three carries, while Henderson picked up just 19 yards on his 10 rush attempts. It was the second straight game Henderson struggled to do much of anything on the ground.

Dud: Justin Hollins

Hollins’ role has grown in the absences of Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Terrell Lewis, but if he keeps playing the way he did Sunday, Derek Rivers could take his job. Hollins made just one tackle and failed to set the edge countless times, allowing big gains to the outside by the 49ers’ running backs and receivers.

Dud: Offensive line

In a season that has been a favorable one for the offensive line, this was hardly the group’s best effort. Kerry Hyder had two sacks, one against Rob Havenstein and another against Joe Noteboom. Goff was hit a total of six times and the 49ers made six tackles behind the line of scrimmage. San Francisco’s front seven punched the Rams in the mouth and the offensive line didn’t do enough to punch back. This was a weak performance by the Rams’ blockers up front.

Dud: Tyler Higbee

Higbee came in with an elbow injury so expectations had to be tempered. But he caught just one pass for 6 yards and failed to haul in his only other target after juggling the pass along the sideline. On third-and-1, he also got beat by Arik Armstead, who snuck past Higbee and stuffed Akers for a 1-yard loss.