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It was a night to forget for the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, losing to the 6-9 Atlanta Falcons, 27-24. They nearly pulled off a miraculous 21-point comeback, and even tied the game in the fourth quarter, but the defense gave up a field goal in the final seconds to give the Falcons the win.
There's a lot to clean up from this game before the playoffs begin, which is why Sean McVay wants his starters to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. Pro Football Focus' grades paint an ugly picture, with few players standing out in a positive way on Monday.
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Here are the most notable PFF grades from Week 17 (min. 10 snaps).
Top 5 offense
WR Puka Nacua: 85.3
TE Terrance Ferguson: 82.6
WR Xavier Smith: 77.0
RT Warren McClendon Jr.: 73.8
RB Kyren Williams: 72.8
Nacua only had 47 yards on five catches with one touchdown, but it could've been so much more. He had a 41-yard touchdown called back by a holding penalty and a 36-yard catch negated by an illegal formation penalty, both called on D.J. Humphries. And he was inches away from hauling in a miraculous one-handed catch on the final drive along the sideline.
Ferguson caught two passes, both for 27 yards, including a touchdown on a perfectly run sail route in the third quarter.
Smith led the game with 67 yards receiving, the second time in the last five weeks that he's led all players in receiving.
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McClendon continues to play well at right tackle, allowing only two pressures all night and earning a 67.9 run-blocking grade.
Williams ran the ball well, particularly in the second half, finishing with 92 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Top 5 defense
DT Kobie Turner: 84.7
OLB Byron Young: 83.7
CB Ahkello Witherspoon: 70.3
S Kamren Curl: 69.8
DT Tyler Davis: 68.2
Turner only had one pressure and missed two tackles, but he was great against the run and was in on a key third-down stop late in the game to give the Rams a chance.
Young led the team with four total pressures, missing no tackles and making eight combined tackles in the loss.
Witherspoon was targeted only one time and didn't allow a catch, finishing with a 69.1 coverage grade.
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Curl led the team with nine tackles and nearly had an interception on an overthrow by Kirk Cousins, allowing just 21 yards on three receptions.
Davis had one pressure and three tackles.
Bottom 5 offense
WR Tutu Atwell: 54.0
WR Konata Mumpfield: 52.4
RB Blake Corum: 50.8
C Coleman Shelton: 43.5
LT D.J. Humphries: 38.8
Atwell was targeted one time in the game, which came on a deep shot during the final drive, but didn't catch a single pass.
Mumpfield caught just two of his five targets for 10 yards, coming up just short of the first-down line both times on third down.
Corum left early with an ankle injury but had just 18 yards on six carries.
Shelton allowed three pressures, including one sack, and had a team-worst 27.5 pass-blocking grade.
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Humphries gave up four pressures, one sack and committed two penalties, each costing Nacua a big gain.
Bottom 5 defense
DL Braden Fiske: 50.6
OLB Jared Verse: 49.1
LB Omar Speights: 48.2
S Kamren Kinchens: 47.3
DT Poona Ford: 34.2
Fiske was limited to just 13 snaps, registering one pressure and one tackle assist.
Verse had three pressures but missed a whopping five tackles.
Speights missed two tackles and had eight combined tackles in the loss, pressuring Cousins once on a blitz.
Kinchens took some poor angles in this game and had one missed tackle with three receptions allowed, including one touchdown.
Ford finished with one pressure and one stop and didn't miss any tackles.
Other notables
QB Matthew Stafford: 70.5
LB Nate Landman: 63.4
CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr.: 58.9
TE Colby Parkinson: 55.6
Stafford had five big-time throws and three turnover-worthy plays, which were his three picks.
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Landman was all over the field and got off to a hot start in the first quarter, finishing with six tackles, one QB hit and a tackle for a loss.
Forbes allowed two receptions on five targets for 42 yards with one pass breakup.
Parkinson caught a team-high six passes for 53 yards on seven targets.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: LA Rams PFF grades: Best, worst players vs. Falcons in Week 17
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