Quinn, McDonald and Havenstein expected back for Week 10

The St. Louis Rams played through Sunday’s loss without some of their best on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Robert Quinn (knee), safety T.J. McDonald (foot) and offensive tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) did not play in the Rams 21-18 overtime loss against Minnesota. None of the three practiced for the majority of the week, including Friday, which was the best indicator they would miss the game.

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After the loss, head coach Jeff Fisher spoke about how close the three were to playing against the Vikings and whether or not they will be available for Week 10 against the Chicago Bears.

"“They should be OK this week.” Fisher said. “Our sense on both of them (Quinn & Havenstein) going into today was that although they wanted to go, if they did go and they both wanted to go but if they did go we’d probably set them back for another three or four weeks.” (Nick Wagoner, ESPN)"

Fisher followed that up by including McDonald in the same sense.

Defensive end Eugene Sims started in place of the injured Quinn. Mo Alexander was in for McDonald and left guard Garrett Reynolds replaced Havenstein and shifted over to the right side of the line. Rookie Andrew Donnal was awarded with his first start of his career filling the void on the left side left by Reynolds shift right.

However, even with the ability to fill the holes, the Rams defense struggled all afternoon to get pressure on Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater had his way on most plays with quality protection and, if it weren’t for a few dropped balls by his receivers, probably would have had a bigger day prior to leaving with a concussion.

Aug 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; St. Louis Rams tackle Rob Havenstein (79) Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis offensive line continued to struggle as well. The line has failed to gel during games, and that trend continued Sunday. Reynolds played well on the right side, where he has played before, but Donnal was clearly unprepared. Donnal was caught flat-footed and was stood up on more than a few plays leaving quarterback Nick Foles scrambling for daylight.

Poor play along both the offensive and defensive lines did nothing to contribute to the Rams chances of winning, but all the finger pointing can’t simply be dumped on those two units. Foles failed to push the ball downfield, and his receivers dropped key passes late in the game with St. Louis pushing into the red zone on multiple drives. Play calling can and should be questioned. Fisher’s decision to go for a two-point conversion after the Rams first touchdown was a miserable failure that only shrank the Rams halftime lead.

St. Louis fell short in multiple areas on Sunday and continued to feed into the stigma that they can’t win in big spots, or step up to prove they are playoff ready. Losing to Minnesota certainly hurt their playoff chances, but at 4-4, and 3-0 in the NFC West, they are certainly not out of it. Getting Quinn, McDonald, Havenstein and fellow defensive end Chris Long healthy will go along way in the success of this team.