The Los Angeles Rams entered their Week 4 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles without Aaron Donald and Jaylen Watson, while Myles Garrett continues to work his way back from knee surgery. On the other side, the Eagles were without DeVonta Smith and lost Saquon Barkley in the first quarter to a hamstring injury.
With both sides down their top players, Los Angeles decided to turn up the pressure. The Rams relentlessly attacked quarterback Jalen Hurts by blitzing defensive backs, especially on third down. Their attacking style stifled Philadelphia's attack, shutting out the Eagles in the second half.
On Monday, head coach Sean McVay said he enjoyed watching the defense's display, applauding defensive coordinator Chris Shula for keeping the opposition
guessing by scheming up his players to apply game-wrecking pressure in the backfield.
“I thought we did that," said McVay. "I thought we played 11-as-one. Obviously, Byron Young shined really bright at the later parts of the game and really throughout. I thought overall, Kobie Turner – I felt our energy from the collective the whole day. I thought they were excellent. It was great communication, great sense of urgency. You show me a good defense, you have to be able to apply pressure on the quarterback.
"I thought we were able to do that in a variety of ways, whether it was giving pressure and being able to play some different coverage contours behind it with some of our fire zone mans. Then even being able to do it with some four-man rush stuff. Our guys did a great job. I thought it was a great plan by Chris and our defensive coaches. Then ultimately, the players deserve the credit for being able to bring it to life and that's exactly what they did.”
Young had an incredible day, securing 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, six total tackles, and three quarterback hits. Omar Speights and Kam Kinchens helped add to those totals, as Hurts was sacked four times and hit seven times. That pressure held Philadelphia to 68 net passing yards and 172 total yards of offense.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay loves how Rams pass rush performed vs. Eagles
