Rams has the defense over opponents

Los Angeles, CA (News 4 Us Online) – The Los Angeles Rams are on a five-game win streak. They’ve beaten their two toughest opponents in the NFC West in consecutive games. They lead their division and appear to be a major Super Bowl contender to be reckoned with. 

One reason for that has been the play of the Rams’ defense. Los Angeles has the No. 2 scoring defense in the NFL. The Rams are stingy when it comes to giving up points. 

Through the first 10 games, the Rams have surrendered only 172 points, which turns out to be 17.2 points per game. 

With that understanding, it’s pretty easy to see why Rams head coach Sean McVay has enough confidence in his offense to try to move the chains whenever he decides to make fourth-down calls. 

It also shows the belief that McVay has in his defense to come up with stops in case the Rams’ offense comes up short of getting a first down. That actually turned out to be the case in the Rams’ 21-19 home win against the Seattle Seahawks. 

The stage was set on the Rams’ first drive of the game on a fourth-and-1 inside the Red Zone. A Stafford pass on the play went incomplete, thus handing the ball back over to the Seahawks on downs. 

The Rams got the ball back almost immediately when safety Kamren Kinchens picked off Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold. Again, McVay and the Rams stared down another fourth-and-1 decision. 

They went for it. Running back Kyren Williams made McVay’s decision look wise as he punched in the game’s first touchdown of the game. During his weekly Zoom meeting with the media, McVay talked about the confidence he has in his defense to come through in situations the team faced against Seattle. 

“A lot, but I have a lot of confidence in our offense too to be able to execute,” McVay said. “The one that we didn’t, we’ll learn from. We’ll grow, and more times than not, I’m making that call a hundred times out of a hundred again because I believe in our guys and want to try to put them in the right situations for successful outcomes. But our defense has been great. I think they’ve been key and critical. I think they’ve been at their best in the most important moments.”

The Rams’ defense showed up when it counted. Despite the Seahawks generating a boatload of first downs (26) and being able to outgain LA in total yards (414 to 249), the Rams came up with critical stops when needed, thanks to the four interceptions of Darnold they came up with. 

“I thought it was awesome to be able to force the turnovers and tighten up in the red area like we did,” McVay remarked. 

Kinchens had two picks. Cobie Durant and Darious Williams came up with interceptions as well. The Rams did not record a single sack of Darnold, but they applied enough pressure around the Seattle quarterback to make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket.  

It was the pressure that forced Darnold into those errant throws.  

“That’s always big, you know,” Williams said after the game. “When a quarterback feels pressure at his feet, you know, that’s always helpful for the DBs [defensive backs].”

Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner said impact is greater than what’s on the stat sheet.

“At the end of the day, it’s a team sport and when you’re able to affect the quarterback like that, you know, obviously, the DBs [defensive backs] will be able to cover,” Turner said. “There were a bunch of times where we flushed Darnold out of the pocket and the DBs had to plaster him, and that’s what gives them the picks. And then there’s a couple of times where you put pressure on the quarterback…at the end of the day, yeah, you like sacks. But it’s about affecting the quarterback.”     

McVay would agree. 

“Oh, they were effective,” McVay said about his front seven putting pressure on Darnold. “That’s why I say stats are for losers because they affected and influenced the game in a huge way. Obviously, Sam is a great quarterback, but he was getting off of his spot. I thought a lot of the pressure that we did get is what led to some of the decisions where our guys ended up making some great plays to be able to get those four interceptions throughout the course of the day.” 

Cover Art/Photo: Inglewood, CA – Los Angeles Rams defensive star Byron Young (0) puts pressure on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold during an NFC West matchup at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 16, 2025. Young and the Rams defeated the Seahawks, 21-19. Photo credit: Ser Baffo / Courtesy of The Compton Bulletin for News 4 Us Online