Pressure is building on Byron Young to pressure Sam Darnold in Week 11

The Los Angeles Rams defense is powered by its pass rush. And the pass rush is powered by outside linebacker Byron Young. Young has 9.0 quarterback sacks in nine games. But since the Week 8 BYE, he has yet to bring down an opposing quarterback, and that's a problem.

Don't read more into this. No player can generate quarterback sacks every game. And averaging a sack per game is still a pretty frantic pace. The thing is, if the NFL playoffs are the goal this year (and they are), then Young needs to contribute at the same pace as he has all season.

The thing is that it's not just Young. Since the BYE, the defense has mustered just one sack over two games. That's alarming. Over that span, the defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 48 of 69 passes for 495 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. And neither game was against a veteran starter.

Don't look now, but here comes Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who has only been sacked 10 times in nine games

Can Byron Young rediscover his QB-sacking mojo in Week 11?

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has remained clean in the pocket in three games this season, while suffering multiple sacks three times. That's admirable work for an offensive line that was questionable last season. And it's one of the reasons why Darnold is having a career season.

But Byron Young is having a career season as well. Unfortunately, he has fallen into a lull of sorts. Will he rediscover his quarterback-sacking mojo in time to terrorize Darnold? That's a very good question.

He had a tremendous run on quarterback sacks that ended at the Week 8 BYE. Have offenses figured out counter-measures to stop his success? If they have, it hasn't shown up on the final scoreboard.

But his teammates have not taken up the slack either. That opens the door to other questions about the pass rush and the defensive strategy. Could it be that allowing quarterbacks to throw passes allows the underrated secondary to create turnovers? Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. could attest to that, as he has two consecutive games with a pick.

Still, this defense is powered by that pass rush, and Young is the linchpin to chasing down quarterbacks. Can he deliver in Week 11? The pressure is building for him to create pressure. And so, fans have to hope that he rediscovers his mojo quickly.

As always, thanks for reading.