Los Angeles Rams: Dante Fowler Jr. needs to build off from career day in Week 7 win

Dante Fowler Jr. put together a career performance for the Los Angeles Rams during their Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

A Week 7 win over the struggling Atlanta Falcons was exactly what the Los Angeles Rams needed to get back on the right track after taking down Dan Quinn‘s squad 37-10, their first victory since all the way back in Week 3.

From Todd Gurley‘s acrobatic catch to Jared Goff looking sharp with three total touchdowns, there were plenty of key factors that stood out for the Rams in their win over the Falcons.

On the defensive side of the football, Aaron Donald stole most of the attention for the fight that broke out with Devonta Freeman, but from a production standpoint, Dante Fowler Jr. arguably stood out the most.

For a defender that had gone the previous five games prior to Sunday without a single sack, Fowler put together a career day in Atlanta by recording three sacks, showing once again what the linebacker can bring to the table on defense.

Leading up to the trade deadline last season, the Rams felt they had nothing to lose acquiring the former first-round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and seeing Fowler earn a hefty one-year deal 2019 shows they loved his potential for the long run.

Then again, Los Angeles easily could have locked Fowler up for the long run during the offseason instead of signing him to a one-year deal, but also this was the proper approach to make sure he was in fact the real deal.

The fact that Fowler started 2019 on a hot note by recording two sacks against the Carolina Panthers made it seem like the Rams would have an easy decision on their hands as far as contract was concerned.

But after Fowler started off hot only to go five games in a row without a single sack, it seemed like Los Angeles had a tougher decision on their hands than originally expected.

After watching Fowler record three sacks on Sunday, however, this is the perfect example of what the Florida product is capable of when on top of his game, even if these numbers came against a struggling defensive unit in the Falcons.

At the end of the day, the best thing the Rams can hope for is that Fowler uses this career performance as motivation to continue playing at a high level heading into Sunday’s game in London against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If Fowler can manage to continue playing at a high level, that potential long-term deal could come sooner rather than later from the Rams.