Week 16’s Thursday Night Football clash between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks is probably the most important game for either team this season.
The Rams are on a two-game win streak. If we pop the hood and look underneath, there is a concerning trend for Los Angeles that could derail their hopes of beating Seattle and strengthening their grasp on the NFC West division and first place in the NFC conference.
LA has a tackling problem
While the Rams have won their last two games by a combined 35 points, they are also fresh off their two-worst tackling performances of the year according to Pro Football Focus (PFF):
- Week 14 at Arizona Cardinals: 32.4 tackling grade; 14 misses
- Week 15 vs Detroit Lions: 38.8 tackling grade; 13 misses
We have to go back to Week 5’s brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers to find a comparable outing for Los Angeles. They drew a 57.2 tackling grade in this game and missed 12 tackles.
If we zoom out across the entire NFL, the Rams rank 10th in overall tackling grade. Earlier this season, however, they were leading the league. It’s a troubling concern that likely helps explain LA’s recent regression on defense. They haven’t felt as dominant since their Week 12 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So who is to blame?
Braden Fiske has seven missed tackles so far this season. He’s missed three in the last two weeks and five over the last four games. Fiske didn’t register a single miss in Weeks 1-6.
Josh Wallace—the primary replacement for the injured Quentin Lake—has missed three tackles in his last two games. Another player seeing an increased role in Lake’s absence, Jaylen McCollough, missed on two plays this week against the Lions. Lake leaves big shoes to fill. He has a miss rate of only 10.3% (7), which ranks 32nd among the 103 safeties that have logged at least 187 defensive snaps this year. It’s clear Lake’s replacements are not as sure-handed.
Not to pick on those while they are down, but Ahkello Witherspoon was a healthy scratch and gameday inactive against Detroit. In his second game after returning from a collarbone injury, he missed two of six tackle opportunities versus the Cardinals. It’s clear now that the Rams view Witherspoon as the team’s fourth corner behind Cobie Durant, Emmanuel Forbes, and Darious Williams. Tackling—or lack thereof—could be a key factor.
A blip or a trend?
It could very well be a coincidence that the Rams happened to have their two-worst tackling performances in back-to-back games. This could also be an indicator of future performance, and that is the more worrying outcome for the Rams.
Lake was a very important player for the defense. He won’t be back for the most important game of the regular season Thursday night against the Seahawks. Wallace and McCollough need to make the plays that are in front of them, especially after they watched Amon-Ra St. Brown accumulate over 150 yards and two scores. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on deck and perfectly capable of exploiting such a weakness.
Let us know whether you believe this is a two-week blip or a concerning trend in the comments below!
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