Jared Verse didn’t have a sack in the Los Angeles Rams’ win over the New Orleans Saints. He didn’t have a single tackle for a loss and finished with five total tackles. It wasn’t his best game by any means, but when the Rams needed him most, he delivered in the clutch.
It shows the impact a pass rusher can have on a game even when he isn’t sacking the quarterback and Verse has quickly become one of the best young edge defenders in the NFL.
With the Rams leading 21-14 and just over a minute remaining, the Saints were threatening to tie the game from Los Angeles’ 9-yard line. It was fourth-and-3 after three straight runs by Alvin Kamara, which is when Verse made his presence felt.
Foolishly, the Saints tried to block him one-on-one with tight end Foster Moreau and it went about as poorly as you’d expect. Verse beat Moreau rather easily, turned the corner and hit Derek Carr’s arm to force the incompletion. It didn’t go down as a turnover forced by Verse, but it was a turnover on downs and got the ball back for the Rams, allowing them to ice the game one play later thanks to an 11-yard run by Kyren Williams.
The @RamsNFL get a HUGE stop on 4th down!
📺: #LARvsNO on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/eSN5Qn9S7p— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
Verse ended the game with six pressures and three stops, a fantastic performance once again by the rookie out of Florida State. He was constantly in the backfield pressuring Carr, dominating on the right side of the defense.
Just as Aaron Donald did in the Super Bowl, Verse closed out the game in dominant fashion by forcing an incompletion on fourth down to all but end it.
Top #Rams defensive player stats (via @PFF):
Verse: 6 pressures, 3 stops
Turner: 3 pressures, 1 stop
Speights: 11 tackles, 7 stops
Rozeboom: 14 tackles, 3 stops
Kinchens: 6 tackles, 3 stops3 of these guys are rookies. Another great day for the Rams’ young defenders.
— Wyatt Miller (@wymill07) December 2, 2024
