In light of his performance in Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced.
Williams hadn’t participated in a game since defeating the Cardinals on October 15th, when he ran for 158 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He was placed on injured reserve after that game due to an ankle injury, which prevented him from playing in the Rams’ next four games.
However, he was back in action for the second road game against Arizona and appeared to be in excellent health. He ran 16 times for 143 yards and added six receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Williams has assumed the role of the Rams’ lead back this season and has been outstanding for Los Angeles when healthy. The second-year back has gained 599 yards and six touchdowns on the ground in seven games, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. He has also caught 19 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns in the air.
Even though Williams wasn’t anticipated to start as the Rams’ three-down back at the start of the season, he has shown himself to be among the best in the league and, now that he’s healthy and back to playing at a high level, should continue to see a heavy workload going forward.
In just his second NFL season with Los Angeles, Williams has demonstrated that he can be the dual-threat running back that Sean McVay’s offense loves to throw to.
Williams reports feeling completely well upon returning to action.
It wouldn’t have been shocking to see Williams falter in Week 12 as he continues to recover from an ankle injury after missing more than a month of action.
That wasn’t the case, though, as he declared himself to be in excellent health following the game and looked it.
“Is that 200 yards from the line of scrimmage?” Speaking about his ankle, Williams said. “This time, I want to say (I feel) 200 percent.”
It’s encouraging to see Williams in such good spirits because, should the Rams maintain their winning ways and secure a No. 6 or 7 NFC seed, he will be a key player in their postseason run. As of 5-6, the Rams are in the thick of things.