Enemy Confidential: Stifling Defense Makes Rams Top Threat for Seahawks in NFC West

Coming off a Super Bowl defeat to the Patriots, the Rams went all-in during the 2019 season. Along with signing veteran linebacker Clay Matthews, they traded away two first-round picks prior to the trade deadline for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey with hopes they could get back to the big game.

Unfortunately, coach Sean McVay's squad didn't even make it back to the playoffs, dropping to a 9-7 record and finishing third in the vaunted NFC West. At the center of the team's regression was a defense that allowed at least 34 points in three of the final six games in the regular season, ultimately costing renowned defensive coordinator Wade Phillips his job.

Though Los Angeles underwent a significant makeover in the offseason with stars such as running back Todd Gurley, receiver Brandin Cooks, and defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. departing, many of those moves have paid off with the team off to a 5-3 start.

In particular, the Rams' defense has been revitalized by the hiring of Brandon Staley, who was hired as a replacement for Phillips after several seasons as a linebacker coach for the Bears and Broncos. Led by future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald and Ramsey, they currently boast the No. 2 scoring defense in the NFL, have limited opponents to 291 total yards per game, and are the only team in the league that still hasn't given up over 1,000 yards to receivers.

On the other side of the ball, led by a trio of talented receivers in Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Josh Reynolds and deploying a by-committee approach in the backfield, the Rams currently rank sixth in the NFL in total yardage. Quarterback Jared Goff has bounced back from a difficult season with 13 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.

"The Rams look like a really good football team to us in all ways," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters on Wednesday. "They're a complete team. Sean [McVay] has done a great job with these guys. They're balanced. They can run it. They throw it. They're playing really good defense. Special teams are solid. They are a very good club."

Let’s take a closer look at the Seahawks upcoming opponent, including series history, additions/departures, key numbers, and Carroll’s evaluation of the Rams heading into a critical NFC West matchup.

SERIES HISTORY

--43rd regular season meeting. Seahawks lead the series 24-19. The two teams have also met once in the playoffs, with the then-St. Louis Rams ousting Seattle 27-20 in the 2004 wild card round.

Seattle dominated this matchup through the early part of the 2000s, winning 10 straight from 2005 to 2009 and 16 out of 18 from 2005-2013. The Rams have won eight of the last 12, however, including four out of six games with McVay at the helm. The last time the Seahawks beat the Rams on the road was a 16-10 victory in 2017.

WHAT’S NEW?

Departures: Desperate for cap relief, the Rams purged the roster to an extent by releasing former All-Pro running back Todd Gurley and veteran linebacker Clay Matthews, declining a qualifying offer for cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, and shipping receiver Brandin Cooks to the Texans for a second-round draft choice. The organization also allowed defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. and linebacker Corey Littleton to depart in free agency and sign with the Falcons and Raiders respectively.

Additions: With limited financial flexibility, the Rams weren't overly active in free agency, though they did sign former Bears first-round pick Leonard Floyd as a replacement for Fowler and added depth at defensive tackle by signing ex-Lions defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson. On the coaching front, Staley replaced Phillips after one season as an outside linebackers coach for the Broncos.

In the draft, Los Angeles didn't have a first-round pick after trading the selection to Jacksonville for Ramsey. But the franchise had two second-round choices, using them on Florida State running back Cam Akers and Florida receiver Van Jefferson as possible replacements for Gurley and Cooks. The Rams also used a pair of third-round selections on Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis and Utah safety Terrell Burgess.

BY THE NUMBERS

96.3: Jared Goff's passer rating against the blitz, three points higher than against traditional three-four man rushes.

485: Rushing yards after contact, the seventh-most in the NFL.

61.3: Red zone touchdown percentage, 17th among 32 NFL teams.

10: Sacks surrendered by the Rams' offensive line, second-fewest in the league.

6.1: Yards after the catch per reception by Rams receivers, third-best in the NFL.

3.9: Yards per carry surrendered by Rams' defense, sixth-best among 32 teams.

197.1: Passing yards allowed per game, second behind only Washington.

20.8: Pressure rate on opposing quarterbacks, 20th among NFL teams.

16: Pass plays of 20-plus yards given up, the fewest among all 32 teams.

19.9: Expected points added by Rams' pass defense, highest mark in the NFL.

CARROLL’S THOUGHTS

--Over the past five seasons, Gurley tortured the Seahawks due to his versatility out of the backfield. Along with rushing for 694 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns in 11 games against Carroll's defense, the former first-round pick also caught 22 passes for 175 yards and a score.

"When Gurley was really hot, he was hot in every phase of the game," Carroll reflected. "You know, he was a big time receiver and big time guy in the screens, as well as all the runs. Such an effective player."

Now in Atlanta, Seattle won't have to worry about Gurley this time around. But while Carroll doesn't see any major changes philosophically in the ground game, Los Angeles has revitalized its ground game with a trio of runners in Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown, and Akers. Currently ranking seventh in rushing yards per game, he expects all three backs to be part of the Rams' game plan this weekend.

"It takes a couple guys to fill his shoes, and they found it. Both guys average around four and a half yards a carry. They're consistent. Both catch the football. The rookies good, too. So they've got a great trio of guys to go to. Style seems the same. Hopefully we can keep them from being as effective as Gurley was against us at times."

--Since taking over as head coach in 2017, McVay has consistently coordinated one of the NFL's most effective, balanced offensive attacks. As one of his core philosophies, the Rams don't use as many formations or mix in as many personnel groupings as other teams, but they run a wide variety of plays out of those sets, making it difficult for opponents to decipher.

As linebacker Bobby Wagner noted, when facing McVay, eye discipline is the biggest key for defenders, as he loves to mix in pre-snap movement such as fly motion with receivers across the formation and frequently pulls linemen on run plays as well as play action. While Carroll still sees many of the same concepts that have defined McVay's offense throughout his tenure as staples of their attack in 2020, he also credited the Rams coaching staff for continuing to "innovate and do new stuff" offensively.

"They've added some stuff to it. Yeah, they have continued to grow, but staying with the same philosophy, theme of how they've tried to do things in the past," Carroll commented. "They're on to a really good concept about the formations that they use and how they bunch people up and all that. He's just been really good about continuing to progress."

--Limiting opponents to under 20 points per game, the Rams have emerged as one of the NFL's elite defenses. While Staley has big-time talent at all three levels of the defense, Carroll understandably is most concerned about trying to block Donald, who continues to stake his claim to being the best defensive player in the NFL.

Russell Wilson has probably had frequent nightmares over the years from his prior encounters with Donald, who has sacked him 12 times and racked up 33 quarterback hits against him in 12 games versus the Seahawks. He's also been a thorn in Seattle's side defending the run, amassing 19 total tackles for loss.

"He's just doing - just to keep coming back and being great again is a great accomplishment. He continues to really draw all the attention and make the plays," Carroll said. "I think he's got to like 40 times he's affected the quarterback by himself, nine sacks, and there is a lot of times when he's close as well. So he's just a dominant football player, as good as you can get. As good at his position as anybody has ever been."

From Carroll's perspective, he views trying to come up with a game plan for a generational talent such as Donald to be the ultimate "coach's challenge." And even with the potential for two reserve offensive linemen to be in Seattle's lineup this weekend, including center Kyle Fuller, he's anxious to see how the group holds up against the best interior defender in the sport.

"I have so much respect for his play and what he does. I like the challenge of it. I like the thought where are looking at him and trying to figure out who has come up with some ways to handle him, slow him down, trying to create ways to make it easier for our guys to find him in the alignments and things like that where we can handle him protection-wise."

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