Some familiar and some unusual offensive woes weren't nearly enough to stop the Rams from winning their second straight game for the first time all season.
Another dominant defensive performance carried the day in a 24-0 win at Washington, making St. Louis just the second team since 2000 to record back-to-back shutouts. Redskins running back Alfred Morris ran for six yards on eight carries despite a 12-yard run on his first touch of the game, and seven sacks to go along with two interceptions made it a miserable day for quarterback Colt McCoy.
The young defense continues to grow and seemed to get better throughout the game, buoyed by Rodney McLeod's interception at the Rams' 17-yard line on the opening drive. Washington wouldn't cross the 50 again until late in the fourth quarter, when T.J. McDonald picked off McCoy near the end zone on a fourth-and-11.
Veterans Robert Quinn, James Laurinaitis and Mark Barron combined for four sacks to lead a group with six starters who have three years of NFL experience or less. They've tightened up since the end of a brutally tough nine-game stretch, and now the offensively challenged teams from Oakland and Washington have paid the price.
Penalties and other inconsistencies that had prevented St. Louis from winning two straight games before now showed up again, but that doesn't really matter when the defense doesn't allow any points. Even Greg Zuerlein's first career misses on an extra point and a field goal inside the 30-yard line couldn't derail the Rams en route to their first win streak, which moved them to 6-7 for the season.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams deserves plenty of credit for fixing a defense that gave up too many big plays, missed too many tackles and battled its own penalty issues while giving up 31 points or more in five of its first seven games. He'll be the first to point out that the Rams' players have earned their success with their desire to learn, and their return to full health after injuries to key starters such as cornerback Trumaine Johnson and end Chris Long provided a huge boost.
Next week should offer a good measuring stick of how far the defense has come as it faces an Arizona team that put up 335 total yards in a 31-14 win over the Rams earlier this season. That score may be a little deceptive because of two late defensive touchdowns by the Cardinals, but a confident St. Louis team should have plenty to prove Thursday night.
FIRST DOWN: Cook back in form
Rams tight end Jared Cook finally got in sync with his veteran quarterback Sunday afternoon.
After starting the season on pace to shatter all of his season highs with Austin Davis under center, the sixth-year tight end had gone nearly silent since the return of Shaun Hill three weeks ago. Cook didn't even have a ball thrown his way in last week's 52-0 rout of Oakland.
He doubled his yardage in those games with just two catches Sunday, capped off by a 35-yard touchdown to put St. Louis ahead 6-0 early in the second quarter. Stedman Bailey has become Hill's favorite target, and his 36-yard reception set up Cook's 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter to help him finish with four catches for a team-high 61 yards.
The big tight end offers some critical versatility to a St. Louis passing game with a variety of weapons, even though it may lack a true No. 1 receiver. If Cook and others are performing up to their capabilities, though, that deficiency shouldn't be difficult to overcome.
SECOND DOWN: Austin breaks out with room to run
Finding ways to get Tavon Austin the ball in space remains a top priority for the St. Louis coaching staff.
They got some help from Washington punter Tress Way, who also failed to convert a fake punt run attempt in the third quarter. He made the mistake of outkicking his coverage on three different occasions, and Austin used his shifty speed to respond with three returns longer than 25 yards, capped off by a 78-yard touchdown.
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It was the kind of performance St. Louis has been waiting for from its 2013 first-round pick, who first showed his explosiveness a year ago when he caught two long touchdowns and returned a punt 98 yards for a score in a 38-8 win over Indianapolis. But he hadn't returned a punt for longer than 38 yards this season before Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer made sure Austin had plenty of other chances as well, and he didn't disappoint with nearly nine yards per touch. The former West Virginia star knows how to elude tacklers and quickly get upfield, whether he's catching a short pass out wide or hitting a hole off tackle.
THIRD DOWN: Hill under pressure
The Rams' defensive line wasn't the only one to spend a lot of time in the backfield chasing the opposing quarterback.
Hill had plenty of unwelcome visitors of his own when he dropped back to pass on a field not conducive to scrambling after rain earlier this week. Outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan came away with two of Washington's four sacks to reach 11 1/2 for the season, and Hill managed to throw the ball away on several other occasions.
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False starts and holding penalties also haunted the offensive line again, and Hill was fortunate when running back Tre Mason recovered a fumble following a sack in the red zone. But despite all the pressure, the veteran quarterback still managed to finish with a respectable line of 16 completions on 22 attempts for 213 yards and no turnovers.
FOURTH DOWN: Rams tailbacks doing their part
The Rams' backfield offers plenty of variety, even without its primary rusher for the first two months of the season.
Mason continued to lead the way with 66 yards on 20 carries for St. Louis, which had some trouble opening up holes for its running backs. But Benny Cunningham turned in perhaps his best game of the season with 28 yards on five receptions, along with the first 20-yard run by a Ram other than Mason all year.
Plenty of broken tackles against a defense that came into the game ranked ninth in the league with only 102.8 yards allowed per game had to be the most encouraging sign for St. Louis. An impressive combination of speed and power helped a young group finish the day well above its season average with 131 rushing yards, even though Zac Stacy didn't get a carry for the fourth time in five weeks.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
