The Los Angeles Rams keep running into the same wall, and it showed up again in Week 6: no sacks. That makes four games this season in which they’ve finished with one sack or none, and the four they piled up against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 still account for half of their total sack production on the year.
Byron Young has done his part. He has 3.5 sacks, and Pro Football Focus has him sixth among 115 edge defenders with 29 total pressures.
The issue is everything behind him. The help just hasn’t come.
That becomes obvious fast when inside linebacker Omar Speights is second on the team in sacks with two. Edge rushers Josaiah Stewart and Wesley Bailey each have one, and safety Kamren Kinchens has half a sack.
That’s the full list. Only the Dolphins have fewer as a team.
And it’s not just about sacks. The rest of the active edge-rushing group - Stewart, Bailey and Desjuan Johnson - has combined for 12 pressures.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett had plenty of time to work underneath and pick the Rams apart. It’s the kind of thing fans have seen too often this season, and it keeps adding up in the loss column.
The obvious wrinkle here is Myles Garrett. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year and single-season sacks record holder is on injured reserve after playing hurt in Week 1, and his absence has left a hole Young can’t fill on his own.
The Rams do have some disruption coming from the interior, with Braden Fiske posting 15 pressures, Kobie Turner 13 and Aaron Donald seven in four games played. But pressure that doesn’t turn into finished plays only goes so far.
Outside of Week 4 against Philadelphia and Week 2 against the Giants - when the Rams only had two sacks but still rattled Jameis Winston all night - this pass rush has rarely looked dangerous. Pro Football Reference has Los Angeles 24th in pressure rate, one spot behind Miami. The Rams are 13th in hurry rate and 23rd in knockdown percentage, despite blitzing at a middle-of-the-pack rate, 15th.
Young has been hot and cold, too. He has sacks in two games and none in the other four, and he wasn’t at his best against the Cardinals. Still, he can’t be the whole operation every week.
Stewart has dealt with injuries but did get Josh Allen on the ground in Week 5, so he’s contributed when available. Even so, the Rams still need more than flashes.
Garrett is rehabbing and moving along steadily, but he does not appear especially close to returning. He is not about to ride in and fix this on his own.
The secondary wasn’t sharp against the Cardinals, and the absences of cornerback Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson were felt, particularly after Watson went down in the second half against the Broncos in Week 3. Beyond those setbacks, though, the back end has been a strong unit.
The real trouble is up front. The pass rush is dragging the defense down, and the run defense has also failed at key moments. That’s a rough place to be for a group that was supposed to be built around Garrett, Donald and company.
Instead, the Rams are left with the same problem and no clean fix. Young needs help, and the answers aren’t here yet.
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For the Rams, who have had plenty of recent history with Hurts on the other side of the field, the immediate football angle is only part of the story now. What matters most is that one of the leagues most prominent quarterbacks is dealing with a serious medical issue that leaves the Eagles without their starter and raises much bigger questions than anything tied to the standings. [Read more 🡒]