Aaron Donald's Brilliance Leads to Rams Defensive Improvement in Week 14 vs. Cardinals
The Los Angeles Rams defense has been a shaky unit at times this season, but none of that mattered on Monday night when Aaron Donald and his counterparts held the Arizona Cardinals' top-five ranked offense to 23 points en route to a primetime victory.
Donald mentioned throughout the week that "bottling up" quarterback Kyler Murray would be a point of emphasis as the quarterback's escapability in the pocket serves as such a prominent factor in his skill set arsenal.
While the Rams showed confidence all throughout the week heading into game-day, the team was hit particularly hard by a COVID-19 outbreak, sending five players to the Reserve/COVID-19 list, featuring cornerback Jalen Ramsey, cornerback Dont'e Deayon, running back Darrell Henderson Jr., right tackle Rob Havenstein and tight end Tyler Higbee.
Despite missing a great sum of players with the Rams' backs up against the wall, their relentless effort never wavered. Particularly, the defensive line that applied pressure all throughout the night.
The Rams' pass rush registered a staggering 40 quarterback pressures, 34 hurries and four sacks on Murray in Week 14, according to Pro Football Focus.
Donald, alone accounted for 15 quarterback pressures, while sacking Murray three times on the night. That's the most pressures by any player in a single game this season, per PFF.
Donald's final sack came on the last play of the game, putting the Cardinals' final hope of rallying back after recovering an onside kick to an abrupt ending, giving the Rams their ninth victory of the season.
In the first meeting between the Rams and Cardinals, an aspect that Arizona pounced on L.A. was with their running game. In Week 4, the Cardinals totaled 216 rushing yards, which ultimately was the telltale sign of the Rams' loss. So how would the Rams respond in matchup No. 2?
In Week 14, the Rams held the Cardinals to 103 yards on the ground. While a big factor stemmed from Arizona playing from behind for the majority of the night – and James Conner still ran in two touchdowns – the Rams' run defense made the Cardinals more of a one-dimensional offense.
Not only did they limit the number of times Murray scrambled, but the Rams defense was sufficient enough against the run that Arizona passed the ball 49 times – over twice as many attempts in which they ran the ball.
In totality, the Rams were on the hook for four sacks and two interceptions, stacking one of their better defensive performances of the year against a divisional foe.
More from Ram Digest:
- Cooper Kupp Continues Historic Season on Monday Night, Leading Rams Past Cardinals
- Rams Keep NFC West Hopes Alive With 30-23 Win Over Cardinals
- Rams at Cardinals Halftime Report
- Rams at Cardinals Week 14: Point Spread, Over/Under, Moneyline
- Rams Activate Six Players From Practice Squad in Wake of Growing COVID-19 List
- Rams Add CB Jalen Ramsey, TE Tyler Higbee to Reserve/COVID-19 List
- Cardinals Coaching Staff Will be Shorthanded in Week 14 vs. Rams Due to COVID-19 Protocols
- Sean McVay on Facing the Cardinals: 'We're Going to Get a Chance to Measure Ourselves'
- Rams Place CB Dont'e Deayon, RT Rob Havenstein on Reserve/COVID-19 List
- Rams Place RB Darrell Henderson Jr. on Reserve/COVID-19 List
Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.
