4 winners and 4 losers in Rams roller coaster ride in Week 17

How good are the 11-5 Los Angeles Rams? Not very. Those are the words of head coach Sean McVay, whose post-game press conference seemed more like a eulogy than a game summary. While Los Angeles faces little repercussions in playoff berthing from the loss, the message sent to the entire NFL on prime time is clear.

LA is not so tough

Two-game losing streaks will do that to a team. So will losing games that the team should have won. The Horns have lost three of their past five games and are now on a two-game losing streak with one more game to go. This was a game that Los Angeles was supposed to win, but didn't. Now, a formidable contender is giving early-out vibes.

What little Los Angeles had to play for, the 7-9 Atlanta Falcons had even less motivation. They were eliminated from the playoffs and had little more than the offseason to look forward to. Players still needed to show resolve, and those loyal to the coaching staff had to hear the whispers that staff jobs were now at risk.

The Falcons did enough to squelch those rumors for now. The LA Rams certainly helped as well.

4 winners and 4 losers in Rams roller coaster ride in Week 18

Loser 4: Wide receiver Puka Nacua

Unlike Week 16, wide receiver Puka Nacua seemed to be a shell of himself in this one. Of course, NFL officials wiped off two touchdown receptions and a miraculous sideline catch in the closing sections that would have ensured a tying field goal to send this one into overtime.

But a five for ten performance for 47 yards is not what the offense needed from him. Even as Troy Aikman sang his praises from the broadcast booth, this was a less-than-expected Puka performance.

Loser 3: Quarterback Matthew Stafford

While he turned it around in the second half, Matthew Stafford was sloppy in the first half of this one. He ended the game with three interceptions, but his pick-six in the first half set the stage for the loss. His second interception, deep in Atlanta territory, set up Falcons running back Bijon Robinson's 93-yard touchdown burst.

By game's end, Stafford completed 22 of 38 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Unfortunately, his performance rivaled that against the Carolina Panthers just a few weeks prior. LA lost that one, too.

Loser 2: Left tackle DJ Humphries

When general manager Les Snead signed veteran DJ Humphries, the hope was that the team finally had adequate depth at a vital left tackle position. It was clear from his error-plagued performance that Humphries is not that guy.

If he wasn't getting penalized and eliminating touchdown receptions, he was surrendering quarterback sacks. I hate to pin a loss on one player, but he certainly contributed heavily to the loss in Week 17.

Loser 1: Rams run defense

Fans truly expected the Rams' run defense to rebound after surrendering 100 rushing yards to Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker in Week 16. But Falcons running back Bijon Robinson gashed the run defense for 195 rushing yards and a touchdown in Week 17. And he probably could have added more.

He also hauled in five of eight passes for 34 yards and another score.

Robinson made defenders miss almost at will. It resembled a black-and-white Three Stooges movie where defenders did nothing right. Not even inside linebacker Nate Landman was immune to Robinson's elusiveness.

Winner 4: Interim special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica

Okay, now for the good stuff. The Falcons did not return a punt for a touchdown, block a field goal, or even make a kickoff return to change the game's momentum. Kicker Harrison Mevis was perfect once more. Ethan Evans was solid in two punts. And LA's special teams were, for all intents and purposes, the best unit for LA in Week 17.

That's quite a turnaround in one week for interim special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica. But fans needed something positive.

Winner 3: Running back Kyren Williams

While he only rushed 13 times, the yolk fell on Kyren Williams to handle the load after teammate Blake Corum fell to injury in the first half. While he didn't put up 100 yards, he did perform quite well. The offense was simply forced into a pass-centric strategy after falling behind by 21 points in the first half.

Williams started slowly, but ran effectively as the game wore on.

Winner 2: Tight end Colby Parkinson

Colby Parkinson was the under-the-radar guy. He hauled in six of seven passes for 53 yards. In a game when reliable players were not stepping up, Parkinson proved to be a dependable set of hands for Stafford in a game in which he was less-than-secure in the pocket.

Winner 1: Outside linebacker Jared Verse

Outside linebacker Jared Verse put up six tackles, one quarterback hit, and one tackle for a loss. But his spotlight didn't really reach full luminescence until he blocked a field goal, picked up the football, and rumbled in for a touchdown.

After suffering plays like that to lose games, it was nice to be on the positive side of that play, finally. Verse's play appeared to change the entire momentum of the game. In fact, the LA Rams did tie the score at 24 points apiece with 2:46 remaining.

But once again, the defense could not shut the door. The Falcons managed to drive just far enough to boot the game-winner.

it was a poorly played game, and prolongs a concerning trend of poor defensive play. The team has one more game to get things right. But now, fans have every right to be concerned.

As always, thanks for reading.