The Los Angeles Rams suffered one of the more surprising losses of the NFL season on Thursday Night Football, falling in overtime to the San Francisco 49ers despite the 49ers missing their starting quarterback, top three receivers, and starting tight end. In the defeat, wideout Davante Adams caught just five of his 11 targets for 88 yards, but he did not find the end zone, so it was his second-worst fantasy output of the season. Adams has been WR15 by DraftKings’ scoring this season, while his teammate Nacua has ranked first.
Adams should have an easier matchup in Week 6 with a road game against the reeling Baltimore Ravens, who have dropped to just 1-4 after entering the season as among the Super Bowl favorites and will likely be without two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who’s been dealing with a hamstring injury. As surprising as Los Angeles’ defeat to San Francisco was, Baltimore’s 44-10 demolition at the hands of the Houston Texans on Sunday has to be one of the more deflating defeats of any team’s season. Houston had scored 38 points in the first three games of the season combined, but it saw little resistance on Sunday.
There’s not a single stat that encapsulates the Ravens’ disastrous season, but the fact that they’ve allowed the second-most passing yards, the most passing touchdowns, the third-most rushing yards, and the second-most rushing touchdowns is one place to start. It’s not solely a matter of volume: Baltimore has also allowed the fifth-most yards per play and rank in the bottom 10 in both adjusted passing yards per attempt and rushing yards per attempt, as well as fourth-to-last in passer rating. In Sean McVay’s offense, Matthew Stafford, Nacua, Adams, and Kyren Williams can all thrive simultaneously.
It’s possible that the Ravens’ defense will improve slightly with better health: cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Marlon Humphrey and All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton all missed Sunday’s defeat, and it’s conceivable that at least one of the secondary players could be active against the Rams. The possible return of Roquan Smith could also help, since he’s one of the better-covering interior linebackers in football. But Smith, Awuzie, Humphrey, and Hamilton all played against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, when three different wide receivers accounted for more than 60 yards, and in Week 3, when Amon-Ra St. Brown had seven catches for 77 yards and a score. They all played in Week 4, when JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquise Brown both caught touchdown passes.
Nacua, who’s on pace to break both the single-season catches and receiving yards records, will continue to be the focal point of Los Angeles’ offense, but that’s been the case all season, and Adams has been more than fine. If anything, both players take defensive attention away from each other. Often, the opposing team’s best defender has shadowed Adams because Nacua is too good to be shuttered one-on-one regardless, and if that is the case this Sunday, Adams should be able to take care of Nate Wiggins with ease. Wiggins has also dealt with injuries this season and has regressed as a tackler.
