Rams’ defense stands tall in win over Raiders

INGLEWOOD – Through the first four weeks of the season, the Rams defense had few, if any, answers in the passing game. Missed assignments and lost battles at the point of the ball led to the second-worst estimated points added by any NFL defense in dropback situations.

But heading into Week 5, the Rams made some changes. Cornerback Darious Williams came off injured reserve. Ahkello Witherspoon was called up from the practice squad. Quentin Lake was moved back from slot corner to safety. Veteran Tre’Davious White and rookie Kamren Kinchens went to the bench, while undrafted free agents Jaylen McCollough and Josh Wallace started to see the field more.

It didn’t lead to a win in Week 5, but the Rams started to show progress. And after a bye to recuperate and solidify those changes, it was the secondary that shined in the Rams’ 20-15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Rams (2-4) broke up nine passes on Sunday. They intercepted three passes. And they forced one fumble, with corner Cobie Durant coming in on a nickel blitz to strip the QB, a fumble that safety Cam Kurl picked up and returned for a touchdown.

Lake saw the potential for such an outpouring early in the week.

“Those were our best practices of the season. We were doing things, we were emphasizing getting the ball back, taking the ball away, punchouts, interceptions, all that stuff,” Lake said. “Look at what we did today. … That gives us a lot of confidence going into this week because we know what we can do.”

Everyone had their hand in it. Williams broke up a third-down pass on the opening series. Lake broke up a third-down pass to force one of five Las Vegas field goals, then wrestled tight end Brock Bowers to the turf in the open field on third-and-goal with 3:30 to play, forcing the Raiders (2-5) to settle for a field goal instead of potentially tying the game on a touchdown and two-point conversion. Kurl tipped away the previous play to get the Rams into that situation.

Durant got the action started for the team. After four moribund drives that netted a total of four first downs and zero points, the corner stepped in front of Bowers to intercept a pass at the Raiders 47. That turned into the first of two Kyren Williams touchdown carries and the Rams’ first points of the game.

For an encore, Durant stripped Gardner Minshew on the next drive for the Rams’ second defensive touchdown in as many games.

“We have some calls that allows the star to not blitz; when it was the call where there was no way it could be called off, I’d already seen it, I was going to come free,” Durant said. “That’s probably why I cramped up.”

And then McCollough came down with two interceptions. The first led to the Rams’ other offensive touchdown on the day, setting that unit up on a short field. The second, forced in part by one of nine Jared Verse pressures, ended the game with 1:28 to play. And it came after he and Wallace broke up passes on first and second down with the game on the line.

“I trust the scheme. I like to believe my coaches trust me,” McCollough said. “When they give me the opportunity to go out there and play football, man, that’s what I love to do. So I just go out there and play football.”

Let’s get this out of the way: The offense put on the field Sunday by the Raiders was far from a juggernaut. Las Vegas traded away former All-Pro receiver Davante Williams this week. It has struggled to run the ball all year. And QB Aidan O’Connell left the game in the first quarter after banging his thumb into Curl on a blitz, leaving former starter Minshew to take over.

But the Rams found success, and in that success, the Rams’ secondary is developing an identity. While some like Williams and Curl are settled into their roles at outside corner and safety, respectively, everyone else has to move around and play different roles in different coverages. And they are rising to the challenge presented to them by defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

“Our identity is just being where we need to be, being versatile, flying to the ball, being aggressive and at the same time being accountable to the spots we’re put in,” Lake said. “There’s a lot of moving pieces. I moved around a lot, but we understand what our role is going into the game. That allows us to go play fast. We’re so selfless too. Everybody wants everybody else to do well. And to have a game like this just gives us the confidence.”

It came on a day in which the offense didn’t score a single point that wasn’t the result of a turnover and went 3-for-16 on third and fourth down, including a failed third-down conversion that could have ended the game before McCollough could play hero. And that made all the difference in the world.

“I think that’s still to be determined but over the last couple weeks I’ve been really pleased with them,” head coach Sean McVay said of the defense’s identity. “I think it started against Green Bay [in Week 5]. I think we’re starting to find our identity, putting guys in the right spots, being able to take advantage of their skillsets.”