Rams pass on 58% of early downs again after a 41% week, and Puka Nacua feeds on it
The Rams swung from 41% early-down passing in Week 8 to 58% in Week 9, and Puka Nacua took 43% of targets over the last three weeks.


58%: the early-down pass rate snapped back up
The Rams passed on 58% of their early downs against a 41% rate the week before, a 17-point swing. Week 8 was the lowest figure of the season. Weeks 3 through 6 ran at 69, 69, 68 and 66%, and Week 1 sat at 48%.
The results do not point to one answer. Week 7 produced the best success rate of the year, 58%, with a 45% pass rate. Week 9 produced a 43% success rate and 0.002 EPA per play, meaning expected points added, the points a play adds or costs against what the down and distance usually yield. The Rams are 5-4 and on a three-game winning streak, and the play-caller has not settled on a baseline.
43%: Puka Nacua is the first read
Nacua has drawn 43% of the targets over the last three weeks, against 28% for the season. He has also been efficient with them: 0.36 EPA per play and a 63% success rate, up from 0.23 and 55% across the year. Over the three weeks he has 298 yards.
Nobody else is close. Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson each hold an 11% share, and both are negative in EPA per play, at -0.33 and -0.37. Tutu Atwell has 9%. Davante Adams carries a 15% season share with the best EPA per play of the receivers, 0.45, on 49 plays, so the efficiency is there when the ball goes to him.
0.27: Blake Corum is running better than the lead back
Over the last three weeks Blake Corum has 0.27 EPA per play and a 62% success rate on 39 carries, for 224 yards. Kyren Williams has 47 carries for 200 yards, with -0.06 EPA per play and a 38% success rate.
The season numbers tell the same story at a smaller scale. Corum is at 0.14 EPA per play and 55% success, and Williams is at -0.01 and 41%. The Rams rank fourth in rushing offense but 17th in passing offense, so the ground game is the stronger unit, and the carry split does not yet reflect that.
-0.01: the passing game has cooled in the middle
Matthew Stafford sits at 0.06 EPA per play on the season and -0.01 over the last three weeks, with a completion rate 1.9 points below expectation in that stretch, after a season mark of 0. His success rate is nearly flat, 49% against 48%, so the dip is in the size of the gains rather than in staying on schedule. He has 558 yards on 100 plays in the three weeks.
The Rams visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4:05 PM ET on CBS. Arizona is 3-6 and last in the division, and Los Angeles is third at 5-4 behind the 49ers at 7-1 and the Seahawks at 5-4. The Rams are 3-1 on the road. Watch the early-down pass rate in the first quarter and whether Nacua's share holds near 43%.