It was hard to set expectations for the Los Angeles Rams’ defense this season after it lost Aaron Donald to retirement and then Ernest Jones in a shocking trade. We haven’t seen a Rams defense without Aaron Donald for a full season since 2013, and even with all the pieces they added on that side of the ball, it’s impossible to replace a player like No. 99.
Through two weeks, it’s safe to say the Rams defense has been worse than anticipated. Los Angeles has allowed 852 total yards, the most in the NFL. The Rams rank last in net yards per pass attempt allowed and third-worst in yards per carry allowed, so it’s been a mix of bad coverage and terrible run defense.
Sean McVay wants to see improvements on that side of the ball but he’s not ready to make wholesale changes.
” I think you look at it, there were a lot of different things,” McVay said of Sunday’s defensive performance against the Cardinals. “Each play is its own entity and whether it be offensively or defensively, there are a lot of different things that – we have to play better football. We have to coach and everybody has a hand in that. To say that there are going to be any big time changes, it’s too early for that. We need to be able to operate with the standards that we’ve set with how we go about this week and put ourselves in a position to play better against what we know is a great opponent.”
Up next is a dynamic offense in the 49ers, which won’t have Christian McCaffrey or Deebo Samuel but it’s still a team that forces a bunch of missed tackles and stresses a defense with its playmakers.
For a Rams defense that’s missed a league-high 33 tackles, they must improve in that department on Sunday or the 49ers could run wild at SoFi Stadium.
