Matthew Stafford seems to be paired with the best defense of his 17-year NFL career. The Los Angeles Rams rank first in Defensive EPA (Estimated Points Added) through seven weeks and Chris Shula’s side of the ball is second in points allowed and 2nd in points per drive allowed.
It is the first time the Rams have ranked this high on defense since they were first in 2020, the year before they traded for Stafford. Is this the best defense of Stafford’s career and could it lead him back to another Super Bowl?
The Rams have ranked the following Stafford’s seasons:
- 2021: 15th in points allowed
- 2022: 21st in points allowed
- 2023: 19th in points allowed
- 2024: 17th in points allowed
Stafford era Rams have never ranked higher than 15th. They went 12-5 the year that they won the Super Bowl with a decent defense and since then went 5-12, 10-7, and 10-7.
The Rams are now 5-2 going into the bye week and Shula’s defense is top-10 in both yards per pass and yards per carry allowed: 4th in NY/A (7.1) allowed and 7th in YPC (4.1) allowed. L.A. is tied with the Seahawks for the fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (2) and they are eighth in takeaways.
Pass rusher Byron Young has emerged from a very good player to leading the league in sacks with 9!
Teammate Jared Verse has 4 sacks in 7 games, putting him on track to potentially get to double-digits. Both Young and Verse have 17 QB hits and could be the top edge rusher duo in the NFL.
Although the Rams need help in the secondary, Quentin Lake has emerged as one of the NFL’s top nickel corners and he has 9 passes defensed and a forced fumble. Nathan Landman has acclimated himself well to the middle of the defense with 67 tackles and a ton of splash plays.
Is this the best defense of Stafford’s career? It could be.
Back in 2014, the Detroit Lions ranked 3rd in points allowed and 2nd in yards allowed. That Lions team went 11-5 with Stafford, the best year of his 12-year career in Detroit. They lost in the wild card round of the playoffs.
In no other season of Stafford’s Lions career did the team rank inside the top-13 in scoring defense. They ranked outside the top-20 on seven occasions. In fact, Jared Goff has enjoyed 2 top-12 scoring defense seasons in Detroit already, a big reason why he’s had success there.
What’s the limit for a Stafford team that also has a great defense? There should not be one. If the Rams and Stafford can continue on this path, they will be a contender to emerge from the NFL’s toughest conference as a number one seed and/or Super Bowl team. This is probably the best defense of Stafford’s career and he’s already won a Super Bowl with an even lesser unit on that side of the ball.
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