The Los Angeles Rams kicked off their season with a win over the Texans, beating Houston at home, 14-9, on Sunday. There are a lot of things still to clean up on both sides of the ball, but Sean McVay has to be pleased with the way his team played in the season opener against a quality opponent.
As we do each week, we graded each position on the roster for our first report card of 2025. There was really only one group that lagged significantly behind the rest, which shows how complete and well-built this team is.
Here’s how we graded each position in the Rams’ win.
Quarterback: A
Matthew Stafford couldn’t have played much better than he did in this one. He was PFF’s highest-graded quarterback of Week 1, made a league-high five big-time throws and didn’t commit a single turnover-worthy play all day.
His numbers may not have been eye-popping (245 yards, one touchdown), but he was excellent against a strong Texans defense.
Running back: B
It was a fairly underwhelming season opener for Kyren Williams and the rushing attack. Williams ran for just 67 yards on 18 carries, an average of 3.7 yards per attempt. The Texans did a good job closing down running lanes but he also didn’t make many defenders miss, only forcing two missed tackles.
Pass protection also has to be better after Williams allowed three pressures on just seven pass-blocking snaps.
Wide receiver: A-
Puka Nacua was outstanding in this game, catching 10 of 11 targets for 130 yards, including a 24-yarder that sealed the win for Los Angeles. Davante Adams was pegged with two drops in the win but he also made a spectacular catch over the middle where he plucked the ball off the turf, and another along the sideline on a back-shoulder throw.
Tutu Atwell didn’t do much and Jordan Whittington wasn’t targeted as a receiver, but Xavier Smith did have a big 36-yard reception in the second half.
Tight end: C
The Rams got very little out of the three tight ends that played on Sunday. Tyler Higbee wasn’t targeted on a single one of his 22 routes, Colby Parkinson had two catches for minus-6 yards and a lost fumble and Davis Allen scored a touchdown but also dropped a deep pass over the middle.
Terrance Ferguson didn’t play at all on offense but the Rams might need him sooner rather than later.
Offensive line: B
Stafford was sacked three times in the game but only two of those were charged to offensive linemen (Rob Havenstein and Beaux Limmer). The other was on Williams. So really, only one starter allowed sack, and excluding Williams and Limmer, the offensive line gave up just nine pressures against a great defensive front.
There’s still room for improvement, but it was a good start by the O-line, especially given the injuries suffered.
Defensive line: B+
Poona Ford, Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner were all solid in this game, as was Tyler Davis, who had a sack. Combined, that group had five total pressures, and that was with Fiske getting blanked. Where they were particularly good was against the run, giving Houston’s tailbacks little room to work.
Inside linebacker: A
Nate Landman wasted no time having an impact on his new team, recording 10 tackles and a game-saving forced fumble late in the fourth quarter to preserve the Rams’ lead. Omar Speights also played well and had a pressure on a stunt with Jared Verse. The Rams appear to have found a quality linebacker tandem that can elevate the entire defense, which is encouraging.
Outside linebacker: A-
Jared Verse didn’t have a sack but he had a team-high four pressures and drew a holding penalty on the first snap of the game. Byron Young was especially good in this one, recording three pressures and a sack to go with five total stops. He even dropped into coverage a few times and looked comfortable doing so.
Rookie Josaiah Stewart didn’t play much but he did break up a pass at the line of scrimmage.
Cornerback: A-
Ahkello Witherspoon locked down Nico Collins, only allowing one catch for 4 yards on two targets. He only gave up two catches for 5 yards in the entire game, showing he’s the Rams’ CB1 on the outside. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. played well, too, giving up just one catch for 1 yard.
Cobie Durant was the third cornerback and he made one of the plays of the game when he intercepted C.J. Stroud, snatching the ball away from the receiver. This was an outstanding start to the year for the cornerback group.
Safety: B-
Kamren Curl, Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough all had a positive impact on this game, playing well in the win over the Texans. Kinchens was the only one to miss a tackle, also breaking up one pass in the game. Quentin Lake struggled a bit with two missed tackles and two holding penalties, so he weighed down the group a little bit.
Special teams: B+
Joshua Karty didn’t have to kick a single field goal, but he made both of his extra point attempts. Ethan Evans was great as a punter with two of his kicks being downed inside the 20, but Troy Reeder’s holding penalty negated Whittington’s 74-yard kickoff return, which was deflating.
Smith had a nice 16-yard punt return, as well.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams Week 1 report card: Grading every position in win vs. Texans
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
