GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Rams knew from the last game Kyren Williams was healthy that good things happen when the ball was put in the running back's hands.
But even by those standards, Week 12 may have exceeded Los Angeles' expectations.
Williams went for a career-high 204 total yards from scrimmage, also scoring two touchdowns in the Rams' 37-14 win over the Cardinals on Sunday in his first game back from an ankle injury.
"How many - 200 yards from scrimmage?" Williams said, when asked how his ankle is. "I want to say (I feel) 200 percent this time."
That was a nod back to what he told reporters on Friday, when, upon being asked if he was 100 percent, said "150 percent." And Williams looked every bit of more than that against Arizona.
Effective on the ground or through the air as a target in the passing game, Williams' versatility was a difference-maker in sustaining drives in Los Angeles' blowout victory.
He went for 143 rushing yards on the ground, becoming the first running back of the Sean McVay era to have back-to-back games with at least that many and first Rams running back to hit that mark since Todd Gurley in 2015.
Williams was especially dangerous after the catch, too. While he broke off explosive carries like a 56-yard run in the third quarter, he also took a screen pass 24 yards.
"I think he's pretty good at it all the time, you know?" said quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw two of his four touchdown passes on the day to Williams. "They were playing really deep and short on a lot of our play action passes, just trying to kind of dare us to throw it down the field, and I was just trying to check it down. He did a nice job of making those plays into efficient plays, if not explosive, for us. Caught a couple screen passes and did a great job."
It wasn't just Williams' play, but also his play energy that's contagious. That approach comes naturally and is genuine, and it rubs off on teammates.
"Yeah, they'll come up to me and tell me, 'Just keep doing what you're doing. In the huddle, it makes a lot of a difference when you're in there,'" Williams said. "Like I said, I don't do anything on purpose. I don't try to do that to uplift them – this is who I am. I love doing this, and when I get out there, I'm able just to play free, be who I am."
Who he was on Sunday was the first Rams player with 200 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in a game since Todd Gurley in 2018, per research by ESPN Stats & Information – and also big part of Los Angeles' offense returning the unit that averaged 23 points per game when a health Williams was involved.
"He's a really good football player, and he's one of those guys (that) he loves competing, and when you've got that natural just zest and enjoyment for going out there and playing the game and then oh by the way, you're really productive," head coach Sean McVay said. "I mean, he's doing a great job. Kyren is just so conscientious. He loves to compete. He's worked really hard, he's worked really hard just to be able to get himself back to perform at that level. It was cool to see."
