Robinson, Rams’ forgotten receiver, gets it going
INGLEWOOD » Condolences to all the fantasy football managers who kept Allen Robinson on their virtual benches this week.
You're no fool. You thought you were making an educated call. You were not about going to get burned another week waiting for the Rams to get their new $46.5 million receiver involved in their sputtering offense.
But you got burned after all. You and the beleaguered Carolina Panthers.
Robinson had his best game as a Ram in Sunday's 24-10 victory at SoFi Stadium, catching five of the six passes that came his way for 63 yards and a touchdown.
That it took until Game 6 for the Rams to really incorporate Robinson is a conundrum connected to the Rams' decimated offensive line. It's been hard for quarterback Matthew Stafford to make a point of spraying passes around the field when he's been running for his life, sacked a combined 12 times in the two games prior to Sunday's.
Maybe, too, it's a matter of trust, and that exercise is simply a work in progress between the former Chicago Bear receiver and his new QB.
Or maybe it's something else?
Whatever it is, the Rams would be wise not to shortchange A-Rob when it comes to his share of targets, because his participation is paramount to whatever success they hope to have this season.
The 29-year-old former Penn State standout was one of their key offseason additions, signing a three-year deal, $30.7 million of which is guaranteed.
The defending Super Bowl champions needed someone to try to impersonate Odell Beckham Jr., who was such a capable complement to Kupp in his historically productive season before Beckham sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Super Bowl.
That injury would sideline Beckham — a free agent — for several months, which is why Robinson looked like such a catch, a notion that was supported in training camp when glowing reports indicated the former Pro Bowler appeared primed to step in and help keep the Rams' offense moving.
But heading into Sunday's game, Stafford had targeted Robinson just 23 times, fewer than both tight end Tyler Higbee and second-year receiver Ben Skowronek. And Robinson had caught only 12 of those passes for a paltry 107 yards.
Sunday was different. Stafford spread the love, incorporating eight receivers, including four who finished with four or more catches.
Naturally, Kupp led the way, with seven catches for 80 yards. More notably, Robinson was the Rams' second-busiest receiver.
On his first catch to start the Rams' second-quarter scoring drive, Robinson went up the middle for 13 yards – more than he picked up in the entirety of the Rams' loss to Dallas on Oct. 9.
And then he got his team on the board for the first time a few minutes later, when he outpaced and outleapt Carolina cornerback Donte Jackson. Robinson pulled down the precisely placed pass and pirouetted backward into the end zone for his second touchdown with the Rams, who improved to 3-3 and afforded themselves a hearty sigh of relief.
Coming to work Sunday, they were staring into the abyss, banged up and on the precipice of losing a third consecutive game. Such a setback would've been all the more ignominious if it came against the now-1-5 Panthers, who limped in without starting quarterback Baker Mayfield (sidelined by an ankle injury) and feeling little pressure after head coach Matt Rhule was fired last week.
So when the Rams trudged off the field at halftime trailing 10-7, many in the announced crowd of 71,482 booed.
Fortunately for the Rams, they're better than the Panthers.
And at halftime Sunday, they remembered it, just as they remembered Robinson.
And so they outscored Carolina 17-0 after the break, when they racked up 232 yards — 179 of them through the air. Forty-five of those belonged to Robinson, who caught another three passes after halftime, including stretching out his 6-foot-2 frame for another tough catch along the sideline for 15 yards that extended a 12-play, 87-yard scoring drive that tied the game, 10-10.
Robinson also blocked two Carolina defenders to clear a route for Skowronek on his first NFL score, which gave the Rams a 17-10 buffer with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
“When you're running and you see a guy take out two guys for you and all you see is the goal line, it feels great,” said Skowronek. “It's really a touchdown for Allen too.”
Fantasy owners wouldn't have gotten credit for that one, though, even if you'd had Robinson in your lineup.
And that's OK with Robinson, who said all the right things — “for us, it's just about building” — after the win, and whom you might not want to bench when the Rams play again in two weeks against the San Francisco 49ers.
Because Robinson's coach in real life liked what he saw Sunday: “He just made the plays,” Sean McVay said. “We just gotta continue to give him those types of opportunities, like you guys have asked.”