The Rams secondary didn’t necessarily play up to expectations this season, despite being led by All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Darious Williams regressed after a breakout year in 2020, while Taylor Rapp and David Long Jr. both struggled at times throughout the campaign.
In the postseason, the pass defense has improved. Outside of a late charge from Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, the Rams have more or less shut down their last three opponents. Neither Ramsey nor Long allowed a single reception against the 49ers, making life difficult for Jimmy Garoppolo. Against the Cardinals, Ramsey, Long and Williams combined to allow just four receptions on 10 targets for a total of 25 yards.
As dominant as the Rams’ defense has been in the postseason, their cornerbacks will be tested in a major way against the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. They haven’t faced a wide receiver group with three receivers as good as Cincinnati’s all season.
The Rams went up against DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and DK Metcalf this season. They’ve obviously had to cover some extremely talented receivers. But no receiving group has presented Los Angeles’ cornerbacks with the challenge that Cincinnati’s does.
The Bengals are one of just four teams that had three players with at least 800 receiving yards, joining the Buccaneers, Cowboys and 49ers. Ja’Marr Chase led the group with 1,455 yards, with Tee Higgins also putting up 1,000 yards this season (1,091). Tyler Boyd was the No. 3 option with 828 yards, putting all three receivers in the top 40 of yardage in 2021.
What this means is the Rams need more than just Ramsey to step up in Super Bowl LVI. He can do everything in his power to slow down Chase, but that still leaves Williams to cover Higgins on the other side and Long in the slot against Boyd.
Of course, the Rams aren’t going to use Ramsey to shadow Chase exclusively, something they haven’t done against any receiver all season. Ramsey is going to move around plenty, lining up outside and in the slot. But you could make the case that whoever he isn’t guarding will have a favorable matchup against Williams and Long.
Williams gave up 44 yards in coverage against Brandon Aiyuk in the NFC Championship Game and 135 yards on nine catches (14 targets) against the Buccaneers the week prior. He hasn’t had the best season, but he can more than make up for it by locking down Higgins next Sunday.
Long has had his ups and downs this season, too, particularly as a tackler. He’s missed at least one tackle in each of the last three games. The Rams were using Dont’e Deayon in a rotation with Long in the slot, but Deayon hasn’t played a snap in the last two weeks so Long appears to have become the top choice as CB3.
Regardless of how the Rams deploy their cornerback group, this game will ride heavily on how the secondary does against the Bengals’ receiving corps. If Joe Burrow has time to go through his progressions, he’s more than likely going to find an open receiver – and complete the pass after leading the NFL with a completion rate of 70.4%.
Tight coverage will do wonders for the Rams as they try to take down this explosive Bengals team led by Burrow and his three wideouts.
