When the Los Angeles Rams entered the 2025 offseason, they did so coming off of a game in which they got gashed on the ground. In the NFC Divisional Round, the Philadelphia Eagles rushed for 285 yards
and had three touchdown runs of 40 or more yards.
Whether it was reactionary or addressing a need, the Rams made their focus in the offseason on defense to stop the run. They signed Poona Ford in free agency and replaced Christian Rozeboom with Nate Landman. While Bobby Brown III was fine, Ford was clearly an upgrade. Rozeboom had outplayed his status as an undrafted free agent, but Landman was experienced in the defense and a more disciplined tackling linebacker. In the draft, the Rams took Ty Hamilton as a run-stopping defensive lineman. If there was one thing that was not going to happen in 2025 it was that the Rams were not going to get beat with the run game.
Through the first five weeks of the season, that plan has mostly worked. The Rams have played a gauntlet of running backs, facing Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, and Christian McCaffrey in back-to-back-to-back weeks. On Sunday, they’ll go up against Derrick Henry.
Barkley’s 27.8 percent success rate against the Rams is his lowest of the season. Taylor’s success rate of 35.3 percent against the Rams was also his lowest of the season. McCaffrey had a season-low of 2.6 yards per carry against the Rams defense. This is currently the only defense in the NFL that hasn’t allowed a rush of 20 or more yards through five games. They also rank tied for first with only two rushing touchdowns.
The Rams sold out to stop the run and to say it has worked would be an understatement. On the defensive line, Poona Ford ranks second in run-stop win-rate via ESPN Analytics. He’s had the exact impact that the Rams were hoping for when they signed him. Ford is PFF’s third highest-graded defensive lineman against the run and ranks third in stop rate. That doesn’t mention that Tyler Davis ranks fourth in stop-rate via PFF as well, as he’s taken a huge step forward. Braden Fiske has also shown some development as a run defender.
It gets even more impressive on the edge. After struggling against the run as a rookie, Verse has become one of the more well-rounded edge defenders in the NFL. He leads edge rushers in run-stop win-rate and his 11.5 percent stop-rate via PFF ranks second. Byron Young ranks fourth in the same metric.
At linebacker, both Landman and Speights have been solid against the run. Landman has a missed tackle rate of 4.5 percent on run plays which is a huge improvement over Rozeboom’s 9.3 percent in 2024.
The current issue with the Rams defense is not stopping the run. Over the offseason, they made it the priority and sold out to stop the run and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Again, they’ve been one of the best run-stopping defenses.
However, that has come at the expense of the pass. In games that the Rams have lost this season, it hasn’t been the run game that’s given up big plays, but rather the secondary. The secondary made Jalen Hurts look dominant in the second half in the loss to the Eagles. Mac Jones had one of the best games of his career against the Rams secondary.
Since Week 3, the Rams secondary has allowed a 99.3 passer rating which is the 10th highest in the NFL while allowing the eighth most air-yards. This is all while averaging the seventh-quickest time to pressure. On intermediate throws the Rams are allowing 10.4 yards per pass which is the sixth-highest. Their 0.76 EPA per pass allowed on such throws is the third-highest, below just the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. When teams have been able to attack the Rams cornerbacks, they’ve had success doing it.
At cornerback, Emmanuel Forbes has struggled while Darious Williams has dropped off. Cobie Durant may be the team’s best cornerback which is an issue in itself. While the NFL has been a passing league for much of the last decade, it has shifted to more of a running league. At the same time, stopping the pass is still very important. The Rams defense is predicated on being able to do so by getting pressure on the quarterback. As seen against the 49ers, when the Rams can’t get that sustained pass rush, the cornerbacks simply can’t hold up in coverage.
The Rams addressed their issue in the run game, but they ignored the talent deficit that they had at cornerback. Improving the run defense was important, but this is a team that had the resources to address both. While Durant is playing like a top-25 cornerback, there is a huge disparity in the depth. Over the past month, Forbes has been one of the five worst cornerbacks in the NFL while Williams has been replacement level and below average at best.
Again, to close the gap to the Eagles and even the Detroit Lions, the Rams needed to find an answer in the run game on defense. While they’ve certainly done that, in both losses it has been the secondary and its lack of ability to defend on the ball on the perimeter that has been the issue. The Rams are typically patient and don’t tend to make rash decisions. They may wait for Ahkello Witherspoon to get healthy. However, if this team is going to hit its ceiling, adding talent on the perimeter at cornerback may be necessary.
