Gritty Rams continue to find new ways to win and latest effort showed one trait that should have NFC teams worried in the playoffs
After the Los Angeles Rams' latest win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, head coach Sean McVay's squad has now won five straight and six of their last seven with one more game remaining in the regular season.At 10-6, the Rams are in the driver's seat to clinch the NFC West crown once again, […]
After the Los Angeles Rams' latest win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, head coach Sean McVay's squad has now won five straight and six of their last seven with one more game remaining in the regular season.
At 10-6, the Rams are in the driver's seat to clinch the NFC West crown once again, and could have the division locked up by the end of Week 17, if everything works out in the team's favor. Much like it has over the last two months.
The Rams were once 1-4 on the season and plagued with injuries all over the roster. Everyone wanted to write this team off and now McVay and his players are showing how powerful mentality and pure grit can become.
"I think this is just a mentally tough team," McVay said after Saturday's win. "I think this is a resilient team. Really when we talked about coming off the bye when we were 1-4, finding ways to finish games. Now, it hasn't gone exactly the way we want, but we've been able to finish it in the positive column in 9/11 opportunities that we've had."
With the latest 4-point win over the Cardinals, eight of the team's 10 wins have come in one-score games and each one was decided by a different part of the team. On Saturday, the resilience from one part of the team in particular should make another NFC teams worried about coming to SoFi Stadium in the playoffs.
The Rams Defense Shined When It Mattered Most
When you talk about this Rams team, a lot of the talk is about the stars on the offense in quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and running back Kyren Williams. While those four players made plays when it mattered most on Saturday to put points on the board, the defense is what won the game, quite literally.
The Rams' defense held Kyler Murray and the Cardinals' offense to just nine points on Saturday, marking the third straight game the unit held an offense to under 10 points.
"I think tough," McVay said about the demeanor of his defense. "The guys' ability to stay tough and resilient is the things that come to mind. Guys that give themselves an opportunity to make them play that next snap, see what ends up happening, and tonight I think that was on display in a big way."
It certainly was, and forcing the Cardinals to play just one more play ended up sealing the win for the Rams. On the Cardinals' last offensive drive, Arizona ran three plays inside the 20-yard line to get down to the 5-yard line with 42 seconds remaining.
On first-and-goal Arizona tried to get cute and pass it only for the ball to bounce off of tight end Trey McBride and be intercepted by a diving Ahkello Witherspoon. It was a miraculous play at a time where the entire team really needed someone to make one.
Even beyond that final drive, the Rams' defense came to play all night long. The pressure on Kyler Murray was critical, for the most part, in limiting the dual-threat quarterback, led by the team's young and rising defensive front.
Bryon Young, Kobie Turner, and Braden Fiske each recorded a sack in the win while the Defensive Rookie of the Year front-runner, Jared Verse, added even more pressure for the Rams' defensive front.
The Rams' defensive line is continuing to play stronger as the season has progressed and they're starting to get hot at the right time. Having a disruptive front that can affect the quarterback will be a major asset to have once playoffs roll around.
Pair that with the stars on offense getting things together, this Rams team could look to make some noise in the coming weeks. And the fans showed out in full force on Saturday, making clinching a home game in the Wild Card round even more intriguing.
Rams Week 17 rooting guide: How Los Angeles can clinch a playoff spot on penultimate regular-season Sunday
They need help from a few teams to get it confirmed.
