Andrés Soto, USA TODAY Tue, October 27, 2026 at 12:20 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyren Williams stood in the corner of the end zone at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, taking in the crowd. Just moments earlier, he had spun out of the grasp of Las Vegas Raiders safety Treydan Stukes at the 8-yard line and squeezed his way between Taron Johnson and Jeremy Chinn across the plane for the Los Angeles Rams ' fourth touchdown of the first half.
Just a week ago, Williams vocalized his frustration over his lack of involvement in the Rams offense. He had just 50 yards on 10 touches, and played just 40 snaps as LA dropped its second straight game. The fifth-year running back out of Notre Dame was asked postgame about the team's lack of consistency on offense.
"I couldn't tell you, bro," he told reporters. "I wasn't out there."
Williams finished Sunday with 99 yards on 16 carries – both season-highs – and the aforementioned touchdown. Blake Corum, his running mate in the backfield, added one of his own on 17 carries for 93 yards. As a team, the Rams rushed for just under 200 yards on Sunday as they powered their way through the Raiders defense for a 35-21 Week 7 win.
When the Raiders rallied late, the Rams turned to Williams and Corum seven times on their 15-play, 66-yard fourth quarter drive – and it was Corum who punched in the dagger to seal the game.
"Both Blake and Kyren did a great job," head coach Sean McVay said on Monday. "And I think to be able to get them both involved and both allow them to get the kind of touches that they did, and really for us to get the amount of rushes off while still being able to be efficient. ... I was really pleased with that."
Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints is tackled at the goal line by Jamel Dean of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints at Stade de France on Oct. 25, 2026 in Paris, France. (Franco Arland, Getty Images) A general view of Stade de France Stadium prior to an NFL game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on Oct. 25, 2026 in Paris. (Kirby Lee, Imagn Images) Pittsburgh Steelers' US cornerback #35 Jamel Dean during (R) tackles New Orleans Saints' US wide receiver / return specialist #19 Barion Brown during the NFL Paris Game American football match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris on Oct. 25, 2026, the first-ever regular-season NFL game to be played in France. (FRANCK FIFE, AFP via Getty Images) Pittsburgh Steelers' US Wide receiver #04 DK Metcalf (L) jumps to catch the ball past New Orleans Saints' US safety #23 Julian Blackmon during the NFL Paris Game American football match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris on Oct. 25, 2026, the first-ever regular-season NFL game to be played in France. (FRANCK FIFE, AFP via Getty Images) New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is sacked by Chicago Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson (48) and cornerback Clark Phillips III (20) at Soldier Field on Oct. 22, 2026 in Chicago, Ill. (Matt Marton, Imagn Images) D'Andre Swift #4 of the Chicago Bears scores a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first quarter of the game at Soldier Field on Oct. 22, 2026 in Chicago, Ill. (Michael Reaves, Getty Images) 1 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints is tackled at the goal line by Jamel Dean of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints at Stade de France on Oct. 25, 2026 in Paris, France. (Franco Arland, Getty Images) 1 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints is tackled at the goal line by Jamel Dean of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the NFL game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints at Stade de France on Oct. 25, 2026 in Paris, France. (Franco Arland, Getty Images) 2 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions A general view of Stade de France Stadium prior to an NFL game between Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on Oct. 25, 2026 in Paris. (Kirby Lee, Imagn Images) 3 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions Pittsburgh Steelers' US cornerback #35 Jamel Dean during (R) tackles New Orleans Saints' US wide receiver / return specialist #19 Barion Brown during the NFL Paris Game American football match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris on Oct. 25, 2026, the first-ever regular-season NFL game to be played in France. (FRANCK FIFE, AFP via Getty Images) 4 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions Pittsburgh Steelers' US Wide receiver #04 DK Metcalf (L) jumps to catch the ball past New Orleans Saints' US safety #23 Julian Blackmon during the NFL Paris Game American football match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris on Oct. 25, 2026, the first-ever regular-season NFL game to be played in France. (FRANCK FIFE, AFP via Getty Images) 5 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is sacked by Chicago Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson (48) and cornerback Clark Phillips III (20) at Soldier Field on Oct. 22, 2026 in Chicago, Ill. (Matt Marton, Imagn Images) 6 / 6 NFL Week 7 highlights, standout performances and reactions D'Andre Swift #4 of the Chicago Bears scores a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the first quarter of the game at Soldier Field on Oct. 22, 2026 in Chicago, Ill. (Michael Reaves, Getty Images) It was a breakthrough for a Rams run game that has struggled at different points throughout the first seven weeks of the season, and it wasn't just on the tailbacks. The linemen were winning with their pad level. The tight ends – a shorthanded group by the way, with Terrance Ferguson on the IR and Colby Parkinson subbing in and out three times after appearing to go through multiple injuries – were also engaged on their blocks, which gave Williams and Corum all the space they needed to operate.
That kind of production is what McVay has envisioned with this two-back system.
"I thought it was a great reflection of them deserving the well-earned credit, but also the guys that were part of the blocking surface," he said. "When you're able to do that, you're not in a bunch of bad spots on second down and on third down, and a lot of things can come off of that. I thought that was the first game that was reflected."
And with the offense down another major player in the passing game in Davante Adams for the next 6-10 weeks, the onus could fall onto that same ground game to save the Rams' season.
Unlike the traditional running back tandem that would feature a speedster with a power guy, Williams and Corum aren't too far apart physically. Williams stands just one inch taller and weighs five pounds more than his counterpart out of Michigan. And while they don't have the exact same run styles, they both are capable of running any play out of any package that McVay might call. That makes them a problem for NFL defenses when everything clicks.
That hasn't always been the case this season, but Sunday showed a glimpse of how explosive this offense can be – even when it's not at full strength – behind a balanced attack on the ground. It got the Rams to 3-4, and can probably get them back to .500 this week against the winless Los Angeles Chargers .
Whether or not they'll get back into the Super Bowl conversations that surrounded this team entering the season, however, might be another conversation.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Kyren Williams and Blake Corum might be the key to saving the Rams' season
Source: Sports
0 Comments