Voice of Rams explains the flaw LA has recently shown

Thursday Night Football will feature two teams with 11 or more wins for the first time ever.

How Seattle Seahawks and LA Rams stack up in NFL power rankings

So perhaps it’s not surprising that it’s tough to find a big Achilles heel with the Seattle Seahawks opponent this week. This game is, in all likelihood, a battle for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

But every team has a flaw, and on this week’s edition of The Huddle we asked Rams play-by-play voice J.B. Long to identify the issue in Los Angeles. He pointed to a question on the defense:

Where they’re great: early-down run efficiency on defense (Long warned that they weren’t great here against Carolina, but it’s otherwise been a hallmark of their defense this year).

Where they’re “struggling”: clamping down on top receivers and successfully rushing four.

“Struggling” is in quotes here because while the Rams’ defense hasn’t been as stingy as Seattle’s, it’s still one of the better units in the league. It’s ninth against the run (Seattle is third), 13th in opponent yards per game (Seattle is fourth), and ninth in sacks (Seattle is fourth).

“I think the concerns about (whether) they can hang with the likes of a (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) against a dynamic passing attack have resurfaced,” Long said. “Like if defense wins championships, is this defense going to be good enough to get the Rams all the way to Santa Clara? I would probably say that’s a different vibe down here than it was a month ago.”

What names in particular are fans talking about?

Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had a tough day against the Panthers (the Rams still have unwavering belief in him). But he’s not the only name. Really, it’s a group effort right now with the pass rush.

“Emmanuel Forbes was playing like a first-round draft pick, and I think he had some great moments last week against the Lions … but I think as much as Forbes and Ahkello Witherspoon getting back to full health (can help), I think it really ties together with the pass rush,” Long said.

“No one knows more than Sam Darnold about how devastating the Rams can be when they’re winning with their front four. But right now they’re just not generating the pure win, the organic pressures, the pass rush that doesn’t require blitzing. … It just hasn’t been as pronounced or as dominant as the Rams would like recently.”

The Rams haven’t been allowing a ton of passing yards over the last three weeks, but they’ve allowed 30 or more points from opponents twice (they’re 1-1 in those games) and have just one takeaway after getting six over the previous three games.

Hear the full conversation with J.B. Long at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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