blake corum

Another week, another big-name running back across the field on the opponent’s sideline.

Rams running back Kyren Williams acknowledged the well-deserved attention Saquon Barkley received last week before the Rams played the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Now Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL’s leading rusher, is coming to SoFi Stadium.

Williams said a “competitive mindset” drives him when high-profile backs are in the building.

“I know how people look at those guys,” Williams said, “and so it’s like, ‘Bro, you better look at me the same way.’ I love it.”

Williams, who signed a $23-million extension before the season, and second-year pro Blake Corum are providing the Rams with the backfield balance coach Sean McVay envisioned as the Rams built a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

Last season, the 5-foot-9, 207-pound Williams carried the ball 316 times. Only Barkley (345 carries) and Derrick Henry (325) of the Baltimore Ravens had more. The Rams averaged 103.8 yards rushing per game, which ranked 24th among 32 teams.

Through three games, the Rams are ranked ninth, averaging 127 yards rushing per game.

Williams, a fourth-year pro, has rushed for 226 yards and a touchdown in 55 carries (4.1 yards per carry). He also has five receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.

Rams running back Kyren Williams celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans on Sept. 7.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Corum has rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in 14 carries (7.1 yards per carry). He has one catch for 14 yards.

“Those two play off each other really well,” McVay said, adding, “We feel really good about where both of those guys are at, and continue to lean into it and look for a good balance of being able to keep Kyren feeling good throughout it and take advantage of Blake’s skill set.”

McVay has said that ideally he would like to see Williams get 65% of the carries, Corum 35%. But the flow of the game dictates whether that plays out.

After Williams carried the ball 18 times, and Corum only once, in the opener against the Houston Texans, the duo provided more balanced production in the next two games.

They combined for 110 yards rushing in a victory over the Tennessee Titans. In last Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, Williams ran for 94 yards in 20 carries. Corum gained 53 yards in eight carries.

“It was a good one-two punch,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said.

That is what McVay and general manager Les Snead aimed for after Williams carried a combined 544 times in the previous two seasons.

“We’ve got it kind of dialed into where, like, we’re able to feed off each other,” Williams said of he and Corum. “It’s like friendly competition as well. I go out and make a play, now Blake is going to come in and make a play.

“It allows me to stay fresh throughout the whole game. So it doesn’t feel like I just took 50 carries and it’s only the second quarter. To me it’s a great system.”

Rams running back Blake Corum carries the ball during a preseason win over the Dallas Cowboys in August.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Corum, a 2024 third-round draft pick from Michigan, is enjoying the expanded opportunity after getting only 58 carries last season.

“It’s been great getting my feet under me, being able to just go out there and play free and fast,” he said. “Kyren and I are feeding off each other, so it’s been phenomenal.”

Against the Eagles, Williams bested Barkley, who was limited to 46 yards rushing in 18 carries.

Taylor, the 2021 NFL rushing champion, arrives Sunday averaging 112.7 yards rushing per game. Last week, he gained 102 yards and scored three touchdowns in 17 carries against the Tennessee Titans.

After each of the last two games, Taylor was named AFC offensive player of the week.

Both Williams and Corum aim to continue their production, and to break free for long gains. This season, each of their longest runs has been 15 yards.

“I know I’m capable to create not those 15-yard runs but those 40- and 50-yard runs,” Corum said. “Just need to keep working in practice to hopefully go out and show that on Sundays.”

NASHVILLE — Two nice tuneups.

Two opportunities that showed the Rams can indeed be Super Bowl contenders.

Now the real season — and test — begins.

The Rams’ 33-19 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium improved their record to 2-0.

Puka Nacua scored on a long touchdown run, Matthew Stafford passed for two touchdowns — including his first to Davante Adams — and edge rusher Byron Young had two sacks and forced a fumble to lead the Rams.

Next up: The defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.

That will be the real measuring stick for a Rams team and coach Sean McVay, who is aiming for a third Super Bowl appearance in eight years.

So next Sunday, the Rams will confidently return to Lincoln Financial Field, where they lost to the Eagles in the NFC divisional round.

The Texans and the Titans are a far cry from the Eagles.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, the reigning NFL offensive player of the year, torched the Rams in the 2024 regular season and the playoffs.

He rushed for 255 yards in a Week 12 victory over the Rams, scoring on runs of 70 and 72 yards. In January, he ran for 205 yards and scored on runs of 62 and 78 yards.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is a rising star and Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward appears on track to possibly become one. But neither is Jalen Hurts, who has played in two Super Bowls and won a title.

Eagles receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are a talented tandem, and the offensive line is perhaps the NFL’s best.

And a defense, led by coordinator Vic Fangio, features tackle Jalen Carter, who ended the Rams’ Super Bowl hopes last season when he sacked Stafford one play before Stafford’s final pass fell incomplete.

On Sunday, in a matchup between quarterbacks picked No. 1 in the NFL draft, the veteran came out on top.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looks to pass in the first half against the Titans on Sunday.

(Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

Stafford, the top pick in 2009, completed 23 of 33 passes for 298 yards, with an interception.

Ward, the top pick in the 2025 draft, completed 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown.

Along with his 45-yard touchdown run, Nacua caught eight passes for 91 yards. Adams caught six passes for 106 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown.

Tight end Davis Allen scored his second touchdown of the season, and running back Blake Corum rushed for his first career touchdown.

The Rams trailed 13-10 at halftime after they gave up 10 points in the final 38 seconds of the second quarter.

The Rams had built a 10-3 lead on Nacua’s long touchdown run and a short field goal by Joshua Karty. But Ward made a sensational play to complete a nine-yard touchdown pass, and then Titans linebacker Cody Barton intercepted a Stafford pass to set up a field goal that gave the Titans the lead.

The Rams got the ball to start the second half and they moved downfield to the three-yard line. But for the second time in the game, they could not convert the opportunity into a touchdown and had to settle for another field goal.

The Titans regained the lead with a long field goal, setting up the Rams most impressive drive.

Stafford completed passes of 24 and 22 yards to Nacua and Corum ran for 15 yards to give the Rams first-and-goal at the eight-yard line. After failing to convert two earlier goal-line opportunities into touchdowns, the Rams finally came through.

Stafford passed to Allen along the right sideline, and the third-year pro reached for the goal line. Officials initially ruled he was short of a touchdown, but upon review it was determined the ball crossed the goal line, giving the Rams a 20-16 lead.

After Young forced a fumble that linebacker Nate Landman recovered, Stafford connected with Adams for a 27-16 lead.

Corum’s short touchdown run completed the scoring for the Rams, who opted to run out the clock rather than score at the end of the game.