Why Rams, ‘9 & dime’ are team to watch in second half

Strap in for the second half in the NFC West. Three of the division’s four teams entered this week tied at 4-4 while the club currently in last place, the 3-4 Los Angeles Rams, might be the one that wins it in the end.

After an important division clash at Lumen Field against Seattle (4-4) on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), the Rams will have concluded one of the NFL’s toughest first-half schedules. Eleven NFC teams enter Week 9 at .500 or better and, following Sunday’s game, the Rams will have played seven of them. And as a national-television audience saw in the Rams’ Week 8 win over Minnesota, Matthew Stafford is passing again to both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

However, play-by-play announcer J.B. Long, who refers to Stafford as “Nine and Dime,” said Thursday the Rams’ brightest future isn’t on the offensive side of the ball. After shutting down the explosive Vikings in the Week 8 win, rookie Jared Verse and the Rams proved their defensive ceiling is higher than an LA skyscraper.

“Verse is the only first-rounder playing on that entire defense,” Long said on Thursday’s edition of the Between the Horns podcast with Camryn Irwin and Maurice Jones-Drew. “The Rams played 20 guys on defense against the Vikings and I broke it down this way: Jared is the only first-rounder, six others were Day 2 selections, either second- or third-rounders, five were Day 3 picks, eight were college free agents. Eight undrafted players contributed to that win on defense.”

That’s huge for a unit that lost future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to retirement. And Verse is another key reason to consider the Rams for a second-half run. Long said Verse had 11 missed tackles in the Rams’ first four games, many of which could’ve altered the outcomes of games. Over his last last three games, however, he’s missed one. And according to Jones-Drew, a former NFL running back, Verse has gotten an assist from his Florida State teammate, fellow rookie Braden Fiske.

“You have four guys who can get after the quarterback,” Jones-Drew said. “And I think Fiske doesn’t get enough credit for his penetration, knocking Sam Darnold off his spot. Darnold had to slide. When you slide, now you’re a second late to throw the ball, you’re allowing the coverage to kind of settle in more, and then you get the other guys coming out of everywhere – it seemed like there were dudes all over the place.”

Jones-Drew added that second-year defensive tackle Kobie Turner learned as a rookie from Donald, and turner now occupies most opponent double-teams. This season, though, the Rams’ offense figures to dominate the headlines, starting Sunday.

Running back Kyren Williams, who had a touchdown catch along with 116 scrimmage yards in the win over Minnesota, is just 24 years old. The Rams’ sparkplug has strung together touchdowns in 10 straight games, the NFL’s longest active streak. If he finds the end zone at Seattle, he’ll be the fifth player ever under age 25 to author an 11-game streak, joining Todd Gurley (13 from 2017-18), Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (11 in 1964), Buddy Dial (11 from 1959-60) and Jonathan Taylor (11 in 2021).