12 days of Christmas winners for the LA Rams in a Week 16 win over the Jets

(1) - RB Kyren Williams

Look out for the little guy. That's right, the Partridge in a Pear Tree honor falls to the team's feature running back. With little fanfare, and nearly off the radar of the major NFL analysts, LA Rams RB Kyren Williams is running as though he is possessed by former Rams RB Todd Gurley. Gurley played five seasons for the Rams. and ran 1265 times for 5,404 yards and 58 touchdowns. He also caught 218 of 301 passes for 2090 yards and 12 touchdowns. An impressive feat.

While Kyren Williams has been with the team for three years, he has been a significant contributor for only two seasons. Still, he has rushed 566 times for 2,526 yards and 25 touchdowns over that period. He has also added 72 catches out of 97 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns.

Williams is not simply a guy who muscles out rushing yards from sheer volume alone. Even as he has not demonstrated many coast-to-coast runs, he is incredibly efficient. He milks his offensive linemen for all they are worth, staying in the shadow of a burly offensive blocker until the rushing lane opens up, and then bursts into daylight for a big gain.

Williams has already set career highs in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns this season with two games left to go. The surge of his production over the last four games has been possible thanks to the Rams' offensive line finally starting all five starting players. And his rushing has allowed the team to limit the number of quarterback sacks to Matthew Stafford to just two over those four games.

Williams rushing has gained 421 rushing yards and four touchdowns over the past four games. While that is a pace that may not be sustained over the final two games of the season, it certainly does put opponents on notice that they must do more than defend the Rams passing attack in 2024.

The Rams fought the cold, the time zones, and the New York Jets, to claim their ninth win of the season. The team now returns home for the final two games. This team will finish with another winning record, and could earn another NFC West Division title.

But for now, I'm simply grateful for all of the accomplishments this team managed in Week 16, and throughout the season. As always, thank you for reading.

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