Rams Show Ravens Importance of Pass Rush When Facing Bengals

The Los Angeles Rams kept Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow under pressure for much of their Super Bowl matchup.

Los Angeles sacked Burrow seven times en route to a 23-20 victory.

That pass rush was key to beating the Bengals, an area where the Ravens have struggled over the past season.

Over two games, Baltimore managed to sack Burrow four times.

As a result, he had plenty of time to make plays out of the pocket and played two of his finest games, throwing for 941 yards with seven touchdowns in 41-17 and 41-21 victories.

While Burrow also made plays against the Rams, he struggled with their pressure. In addition to seven sacks, Los Angeles had 11 quarterback hits.

Burrow threw for 263 yards with a touchdown and had a 39.7 quarterback rating.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was a game-wrecker and finished with two sacks and four tackles.

The Ravens do not have a playmaker of Donald's caliber on the defensive line and had trouble with developing an interior pass rush all season,

The priority for the Bengals will be upgrading the offensive line to better protect Burrow. They have close to $60 million in salary-cap funds to make improvements.

Some of the top free-agent interior offensive linemen include Brandon Scherff, Laken Tomlinson and Connor Williams. Cincinnati will also look to bolster the o-line in the draft.

The Ravens will need to counter these moves to keep pace with the Bengals, who will be favored to win the AFC North next season.

They’re talented," Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta said. "They’ve got a lot of good personnel. I would say this: Over the years, I have probably had as much admiration for the Bengals for how they build their team."

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