Los Angeles Rams: 5 takeaways from Week 2 preseason win over Oakland Raiders

3. Another strong outing by Westbrooks

With all of the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Donald, the young Rams’ defense is going to need all of the extra help they can get from players stepping up. And when looking at how well Ethan Westbrooks has played over the last two weeks in preseason, Los Angeles has to be thrilled with his potential for the 2018 season.

After being one of the lone stars on defense last week by recording two sacks against the Ravens, Westbrooks followed up with another strong outing on Saturday by recording another sack and forced fumble on Connor Cook. Since joining the Rams in 2014, Westbrooks has been the kind of defender that gets better with experience, and after putting together his best season last year, the defensive end seems determined more than ever to make another statement in 2018.

Defense is going to be key if Los Angeles is going to live up to the hype as a strong Super Bowl contender in the NFC, and there’s nothing they would love more than to see Westbrooks carry this stellar play into the regular season when it matters the most. If that does happen, the Rams will be in even better shape on defense.