Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams have invested plenty of resources to revamp their defense this offseason. Now the question is whether the additions of Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson can finish as the best statistical defense of the Sean McVay era in 2026.
During the McVay era, Los Angeles has fielded some quality, though not exactly elite, statistical defenses, despite being largely anchored by Aaron Donald. Since the Rams coach took over in 2017, L.A. has finished as the NFL’s top defense once, which came in 2020.
That season, the team finished atop the league in most defensive categories, including total defense (281.9 yards/game), passing defense (190.7 yards/game) and scoring defense (18.5 points/game). The defense also fared quite well against the run, ranking third, allowing 91.3 yards per game, and finished with the second-most sacks (53). Additionally, the Rams gave up 30+ points twice, the last coming in the Divisional Round loss to the Packers.
Outside of that top unit led by defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, here’s how the team has fared in the rankings in terms of yards and points allowed:
Statistically speaking, the defenses coached by Phillips and Morris were average at best. Though Morris’s units in 2022 and 2023 helped keep the team afloat as they dealt with injuries and then a transitional period highlighted by the team’s youth movement. His work those two seasons, especially ’23, helped land him the Falcons head coaching gig.
Things were more of the same statistically in Shula’s first season. However, he did not have the luxury of coaching the ultimate game-wrecker in Aaron Donald as Phillips and Morris had, as the future Hall of Famer retired before he took over. Shula’s unit was already on the uphill swing last season, and should be even better with Garrett, McDuffie and Watson now in the fold.
The Rams’ 2020 defense has been a hard act to follow, but the pieces are in place to not only finish as the league’s top defense, but...
