Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams did not exactly have a banner afternoon this past Sunday, fumbling a couple of times in a win over the Washington Commanders.
First, Williams fumbled inside the Commanders’ 10-yard line in the first quarter. Then, with under two minutes to go in the second period, Williams coughed the football up again.
You would think that would have been enough for Rams head coach Sean McVay to bench Williams, but he opted to stick with him, and it paid off.
“I love the way that he finished the game out,” McVay said, via Stu Jackson of the Rams’ official team website. “It’s always about your response and so he’ll learn from it and he’s the type of guy that has the right football character, the right mindset and mentality to be able to use these things as learning ops push forward in a positive way. And he still made big time contributions to this game in a positive way.”
Williams ultimately carried the ball 27 times for 152 yards and a touchdown, so even with the turnovers, he played a pivotal role in Los Angeles’ 28-20 win.
On the season overall, Kyren Williams has rushed for 953 yards and eight scores while averaging a robust 5.1 yards per carry. He has also caught 30 passes for 192 yards while reaching the end zone twice.
The 23-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Notre Dame, was selected by the Rams in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He made a very limited impact during his rookie campaign, appearing in 10 contests and totaling just 139 yards as a rusher while posting four yards per attempt. He added nine catches for 76 yards.
Los Angeles improved to 7-7 with its win over Washington and has worked itself back into the NFC playoff picture courtesy of winning four of its last five games.
The Rams will battle the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night before taking on the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers to close out the regular season.
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