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Kyren Williams scored the touchdown that got the Los Angeles Rams to overtime Monday night. He also had his least efficient game of the season against a Buffalo Bills run defense that looked like the right matchup going in, and the Rams lost 37-34 in overtime at SoFi Stadium.
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Williams ran 16 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and caught six of eight targets for 27 yards, according to CBS Sports. A week after he ran for two touchdowns in Philadelphia, here’s how his Week 5 night stacks up.
A season-low 3.1 yards per carry
Williams’ 3.1-yard average was his lowest in five games, below the 3.7 he managed in the opener against San Francisco. His longest run went for 12 yards, and the Rams finished with 77 rushing yards as a team, their fewest of the season.
The matchup didn’t explain it. The Bills entered the week 28th in EPA per play allowed and were giving up 0.02 EPA per rush, according to Sumer Sports, and they were without defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Athlon laid out four expectations for him before kickoff, but trailing for much of the night pushed the Rams to throw 54 times.
Five weeks of Kyren Williams, by the numbers
|
Week |
Carries |
Rush yards |
Yards per carry |
Rush TD |
Catches |
Rec. yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Week 1 vs. 49ers |
11 |
41 |
3.7 |
1 |
3 |
24 |
|
Week 2 vs. Giants |
12 |
85 |
7.1 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
|
Week 3 at Broncos |
15 |
88 |
5.9 |
0 |
6 |
70 |
|
Week 4 at Eagles |
16 |
80 |
5.0 |
2 |
10 |
67 |
|
Week 5 vs. Bills |
16 |
49 |
3.1 |
1 |
6 |
27 |
The volume is steady. Williams has between 11 and 16 carries in every game, and he’s handled 16 in back-to-back weeks. Through five games, he has 70 carries for 343 yards, a 4.9 average, with four rushing touchdowns.
The efficiency has swung week to week. His two best games came against the Giants and Broncos, when he averaged 7.1 and 5.9 yards per carry. Through four weeks, he had an 85.7 rushing grade and an 81.4 overall grade, the best on the Rams’ offense, according to PFF.
He’s part of the passing game every week. Williams has 27 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown, including a combined 16 catches in the last two games.
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The two snaps that defined his night
With 1:39 left in regulation and Buffalo up 34-27, the Rams went 63 yards in eight plays. Williams finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run with five seconds left, his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
The other snap went the opposite way. On third-and-5 at the Buffalo 30 in overtime, the Rams handed it to Williams, and Buffalo stopped him for no gain. Harrison Mevis’ 48-yard try on the next play was blocked. Sean McVay said afterward he’d regret “not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down,” according to Athlon, which puts the blame on the call more than the runner.
Pass protection is still the weak spot
Williams’ value in the passing game stops at catching the ball. Through four weeks, his pass-blocking grade was 32.5 on 37 pass-block snaps, according to PFF, the lowest of any Rams player with at least 30 pass-blocking snaps. That matters more in a week like this one, when Stafford threw 54 passes.
Blake Corum got five carries for 19 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, and he caught three passes for 53 yards. He hasn’t cut into Williams’ role, but he was the more productive back Monday after a quiet Week 4 for him in Philadelphia.
What Arizona’s defense offers next
The Cardinals visit SoFi on Sunday ranked 30th in EPA per play allowed, according to Sumer Sports. Their run defense has been better, at minus-0.14 EPA per rush allowed, while their pass defense has given up 0.33 EPA per dropback. That split suggests another heavy passing day, and Williams’ snaps as a receiver could matter as much as his carries.
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This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 4:00 AM.