The Los Angeles Rams defense has markedly improved since the start of the season, though one remaining question about this unit is whether they’ve truly moved past their earlier struggles against mobile quarterbacks.
Rams missed tackle problem is improving
One key element of the defense’s turnaround was cutting down on missed tackles. It doesn’t take a numbers person to know that LA is getting better on this front, and it’s raised the floor for the defense overall:
Week 1 at Detroit Lions: 10 misses; loss
Week 2 at Arizona Cardinals: 21; loss
Week 3 vs San Francisco 49ers: 27; win
Week 4 at Chicago Bears: 10; loss
Week 5 vs Green Bay Packers : 11; loss
Week 7 vs Las Vegas Raiders: 7; win
Week 8 vs Minnesota Vikings: 2; win
Week 9 at Seattle Seahawks: 14; win
Week 10 vs Miami Dolphins: 10; loss
Week 11 at New England Patriots: 7; win
The missed tackle figures on defense also coincide with rookie phenom Jared Verse’s improvement in this same facet.