4 winners and 2 losers from Rams' less-than-perfect win vs. Commanders

It was by no means a dominant performance, but the Los Angeles Rams overcame another lethargic first half to take down the Commanders, 20-13, and exceed the .500 mark for the first time this season at 5-4 overall.

Myles Garrett announced his long-awaited return with the bellow of a shofar. He and Aaron Donald looked every bit the hoped-for match made in heaven.

Puka Nacua did the heavy lifting in the receiving corps, despite the swarming attentions of the Commanders secondary. The run defense tightened up in the second half. The pass rush began getting home.

It was all in all a positive if imperfect day at the office, reflected in the 4-to-2 distribution of winners and losers below.

Winners and losers from Rams' Week 9 win in Washington

Winner - Myles Garrett

Well, that's one way to announce yourself. Garrett racked up three sacks, three tackles for loss, and forced a fumble en route to wrecking the Commanders' hopes of a comeback and confirming that, yes, he's really back and 100 percent ready to roll.

Perhaps the most mind-blowing aspect of watching him at full strength is his speed. An athlete with Venom-esque muscle mass shouldn't be able to move with Venom-esque speed. It's not fair, but that's Garrett. Ripping up the Commanders' offensive line, he looked anything like the injured shell of himself from Week 1. Welcome back.

Winner - Puka Nacua

Nacua had a monster game of his own: 14 catches for 150 yards plus two carries for 20 more. His go-ahead touchdown catch was a textbook display of his toughness, magnetic hands, and telepathic connection with Matthew Stafford.

He did, of course, make a few uncharacteristic drops; the epidemic plagued seemingly all Rams pass-catchers. He was Stafford's double-covered target on a bad interception, in part a result of LA's lack of another reliable pair of hands in the receiving corps.

Time and again, however, Nacua went up to secure a sailing missile against his chest. Or fought through tacklers on a screen pass to gain three more yards he had no business getting. He's a wideout, a tight end, a bulldozer, a ballerina. He's almost always there, it seems, when Stafford needs him.

Winner - Emmanuel Forbes

With Jaylen Watson out for the year, there was already some question as to how Forbes would hold up in an increased role. Then Trent McDuffie was ruled out against the Commanders with his back injury.

Against the team that drafted him, Forbes stepped into the starting lineup alongside Josh Wallace and delivered, for the most part, an excellent performance. After committing a definitely unnecessary unnecessary roughness penalty early on, Forbes channeled his energy into impact.

In coverage, he stuck to receivers like wallpaper. In run support, he hit like a much larger player than his 6-foot, 173-pound frame would suggest. That's Forbes at his best. He finished the day with three passes defended and six tackles, including a TFL. If Forbes keeps it up, the Rams can more than survive Watson's absence.

Winner - Rams' run defense

The defensive front gave up some big gains early, tearing apart like wet paper for Commanders running back Rachaad White. No more of that in the second half.

Critically, Chris Shula's crew kept Jayden Daniels contained in the pocket. Washington mustered only 60 yards on 19 carries as a team, with just four rushes for 16 yards from Daniels. Any defense will take that performance every day of the week. Garrett made his presence felt not only in the pass rush but against the run as well with those three TFLs.

Loser - The receiver room

Nacua made up for it by accounting for nearly two-thirds of Stafford's 228 passing yards, but LA's lack of feasible receiving options was painful to watch. Tutu Atwell hauled in only one of four targets. A would-be third-down conversion hit him in the hands and glanced to the turf.

Konata Mumpfield was the team's second-leading pass-catcher with two grabs for 20 yards. The tight ends didn't do much. That possibly over-ambitious Davis Allen idea? You can stash that in the back of the freezer. Talk about an ice-cold take.

Terrance Ferguson was supposed to play but hurt his hamstring in Friday's practice and was ruled out. Adding some receiving help is past the point of urgency and developing into a crisis. Nacua can't cover for the lack of depth every week until Davante Adams returns. Can he?

Loser - Tyler Higbee

With Ferguson scratched and the Rams desperate for non-Nacua alternatives, an opportunity was there to be had. Instead, Higbee finished with one 13-yard catch on five targets. Colby Parkinson wasn't much better (four catches for the same 13 yards).

It wasn't all on Higbee. Stafford flat-out missed some throws his way. But the lack of connection with his longest-tenured target was puzzling to see. Higbee seemed a beat behind on a few of his routes. He's already had some fumble troubles this season, and in this one he suffered from a bout of drops.

Since surging early, Higbee has faded since fumbling in Week 6 against the Cardinals. In his last three games, he has only four catches (on 10 targets) for 41 yards. The Rams need the real Higbee back.

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