LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams' defense has been one of the NFL's best since midway through last season, and Quentin Lake has been a major reason for its rise.
Lake's elbow injury from the Rams' 21-19 victory over Seattle doesn't just cast a pall over a breakthrough win that put Los Angeles (8-2) in sole possession of the NFC West lead.
The Rams' chances of another Super Bowl run also have taken a hit with the apparently likely prospect of a lengthy
injury absence for their do-it-all safety.
Lake will have an MRI exam before the Rams make a final determination on his injury, but Sean McVay acknowledged Monday that a season-ending designation was a possibility.
“The feelings are that it might be some time, and not great for our captain and leader,” McVay said. "I’m bummed out for him.”
Although Lake isn't widely known by casual NFL fans, he is a vital component of a mostly stellar defense.
The Rams drafted the Orange County product out of UCLA in the sixth round in 2022, and Lake has played multiple roles on their back end for the past three years. He has played roughly 95% of their defensive snaps for the past two seasons since Chris Shula became the coordinator.
Along with calling signals and organizing his teammates on the field, Lake lines up as a pass defender in the slot, a run-stuffer in the box or a back-line safety patrolling the secondary — sometimes all in the same series. His versatility allowed the Rams to survive the departure of Jalen Ramsey, the Super Bowl champion who played the versatile “star” position on prior Rams defenses.
“You don’t replace a Quentin Lake,” McVay said. “He’s so valuable for so many reasons with what he can do, with who he is as a human, with the way that he elevates and leads. He’s a glue guy for us. If he is out, that’s obviously a big loss. ... I think it would be insincere to think that you’re going to ask somebody to do the things that he’s capable of. It’s what makes him so special.”
After Lake missed the second half against the Seahawks, the Rams made up for his absence with a patchwork plan that might become permanent.
Undrafted second-year cornerback Josh Wallace stepped up and played a season-high 27 snaps, and safety Kamren Kinchens played a career-high 73 snaps during his second career two-interception game. Cobie Durant, who also made a pick, moved inside to play in the slot more than normal.
“That's Captain Q,” Kinchens said. “He gives it all. I can't say (we can) replace him, but just bring that intensity, bring everything that he tries to bring to the table, everybody as a collective.”
The defense hung on to win despite allowing 243 yards and 10 points in the second half without Lake. Seattle had eight drives after halftime, but three ended in interceptions and two on three-and-out punts. If the Rams' offense had played up to its usual standard, Los Angeles probably would have won in more comfortable fashion than a last-gasp missed field goal.
The offense managed just 249 yards and made only one scoring drive after the first quarter. That might turn out to be solely a credit to the vaunted Seattle defense, but a Los Angeles team that scored 111 points in its previous three games wasn't clicking on that level offensively.
CB Emmanuel Forbes got one of the toughest assignments in football when the Rams repeatedly lined him up against Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had nine catches for 105 yards. Yet Forbes played superbly: According to the NFL's Next Gen Stats, Smith-Njigba caught just three of his five targets for 30 yards while lined up against Forbes, with an average of just 1.5 yards per matchup — a season low for Seattle's vaunted wideout. Forbes also made an athletic breakup of Sam Darnold's probable TD pass to Rashid Shaheed in the third quarter, forcing Seattle to kick a field goal.
Davante Adams' connection with Matthew Stafford has been remarkable given their lack of practice time, and Adams scored his league-leading 10th TD on his 1,000th career catch in the first quarter. He didn't catch another pass from Stafford despite being targeted eight times Sunday, sometimes with errant throws.
Along with Lake's injury, 10-year veteran TE Tyler Higbee hurt his ankle and couldn't finish the game. The Rams have three other playable tight ends, as they've proven repeatedly in the past six weeks, but Higbee is still their best.
75,323 — The attendance at SoFi Stadium for the Rams' first-place divisional showdown. That's a regular-season attendance record for the Rams, who hit the mark when fans snapped up plenty of standing-room-only seating.
A back-to-back home set concludes against Tampa Bay on Sunday night. Baker Mayfield revitalized his career in an eventful five-game stint with McVay and the Rams three seasons ago, but McVay and Stafford will be eager to face a Buccaneers defense that has allowed 72 points in its past two games.
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