Rams’ biggest strength disappears in crushing TNF collapse vs 49ers

The Los Angeles Rams' defense is buoyed by a passionate and devastating pass-rush. But if that pass-rush doesn’t show up, how good is this defense? Based on what fans saw during Thursday night’s Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers? Not very. San Fran jumped out to a 14-point lead and never looked back.

In a game featuring a patchwork offensive line for the Rams and a banged-up 49ers offense, it was the visitors who looked locked in from the jump, while the Horns seemed out of sync well into the second quarter.

The Rams’ defense was a pale shade of itself in this one. While the run defense managed to contain Christian McCaffrey, they failed to disrupt backup quarterback Mac Jones, who completed passes at will early on. But it wasn’t just the completion — the Shanahan-designed offense neutralized LA’s rush entirely. Jones wasn’t sacked once, and it took a Herculean effort from Jared Verse just to register four quarterback hits.

Rams pass rush drought supercharges 49ers in heartbreaking loss

In a game where injuries shredded the Niner's wide receiver room, the last thing LA’s defensive coordinator wanted was to allow Jones to build up a head of steam and get confident. But that is exactly what this defense did, much to the chagrin of SoFi Stadium fans.

Had the defense been able to pressure Jones, the 49ers’ offensive strategy would have imploded quickly. Instead, he was able to engineer a drive that covered 57 yards in just 5:12, leading to San Fran booting a go-ahead field goal with just 2:52 remaining. But as luck would have it, the Rams responded with a field goal drive that tied the game at 23-23, sending it into overtime.

LA’s pass rush did spring to life late, but it was too little too late. Jared Verse started to find the range to put pressure on Jones as the second half wore on. Both defensive tackle Kobie Turner and outside linebacker Byron Young combined for a sack in overtime. But the damage was done. The 49ers scored a field goal in OT and held on to win the game.

Jones completed 33 of 42 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns to secure the win. He did enough to keep the Niners from falling behind at any point. Had the pass rush found him, the outcome would have been much different. But he was safe in the pocket, exposing the secondary in a must-win game. And now, the team and fans have 10 days to ponder the loss.

As always, thanks for reading.

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