The Los Angeles Rams have a big-time matchup tonight against the Denver Broncos, and as the team looks to maintain their winning ways, they have a quarterback on the other sideline who is built for the big moments. Quarterback Bo Nix is trying to shake off a slow start to his third NFL season, and after finding his footing last week, he hopes Week 3 will usher in a complete performance.
Tasked with stopping him, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula spoke about what he's seen from Nix so far, calling him the ultimate competitor.
“He's the ultimate competitor to me," said Shula. "He keeps plays alive. He's tough and he's gritty. He's going to fight for every single yard. He's going to make plays off-schedule. He's going to push the ball down the field.
He's going to take shots and he can also play with really good timing and rhythm in the pass game. I'm really impressed with him, especially [with him] starting to hit his stride going into his third year.”
Considering all the issues that he presents, Shula will have to balance how he allocates his defensive resources to keep Denver's gunslinger as inaccurate as possible. One of the biggest advantages that Shula has is Aaron Donald. The NFL legend returned last week and was incredible.
Donald also commented on Nix, who he will face for the first time on Sunday.
“Obviously, a big quarterback that can make a lot of big throws, mobile," said Donald. "So being smart in our rushes and finding ways to contain him, get to him, and affect him. A lot of these quarterbacks now are mobile, can move around, make your job a lot harder as a rusher. But you just have to play ball and try to affect them some way, somehow.”
One of the biggest differences from Los Angeles in Week 1 to Week 2 is that with Donald back, they didn't overpursue the quarterback. They continued to collapse to the pocket, giving the quarterback very little space to escape from.
Denver's offensive line presents a big challenge, being one of the best units in football.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Aaron Donald, Chris Shula explain challenges Bo Nix presents Rams defense
