Rams' Rush Defense Gashed Again In Blowout Loss To Broncos
To say the Los Angeles Rams' preseason finale against the Denver Broncos on Saturday didn't go to plan would be quite an understatement.
The Rams were thoroughly outmatched in all phases of the game, falling 41-0 in humiliating fashion. Final scores aren't the be-all and end-all of preseason games, and neither team played their starters. Still, the fact that the Rams lost soundly in each of their three preseason games has to be concerning.
Against the Broncos, many of the same issues that plagued the Rams earlier in the preseason persisted. In particular, the rushing defense was abysmal once again, allowing 152 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. For comparison, the Rams had just 159 yards of total offense in the entire game.
What may make things even more concerning is that no one Broncos rusher had a particularly great game, but all of them were able to rack up decent yardage.
Undrafted rookie running back Jaleel McLaughlin was the primary rusher with 10 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown, while three other players, including quarterback Jarrett Stidham, had at least 20 yards on solid efficiency. All three of Denver's rushing touchdowns came from one yard out, indicating that the Rams' goal-line defense needs some work as well.
As previously mentioned, the Rams' poor run defense has been a problem throughout the entire preseason. It wasn't too bad against the Las Vegas Raiders on Aug. 19, allowing 98 yards on 3.9 yards per carry. However, it was truly abysmal in the opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, allowing 214 yards on 6.9 yards per attempt.
With such a young defense, it's fair to expect some growing pains early on. If the run defense does not improve before the regular season begins on Sept. 10, though, the Rams may be in for a very long year.
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