Has Rams pass rush been underperformed?

The Los Angeles Rams defensive line has been good in moments this season, but they have lacked the consistency to be a dominant unit. This was supposed to be the team’s identity and, while they have talent, they’ve only produced at an above average rate.

Last season, the Rams defensive line was key down the stretch, especially in the playoffs. They finished inside the top-10 in pressure rate at 35.6 percent despite blitzing at a rate of just 23.7 percent. The Rams defense has had good games in 2025, but the overall consistency has been lacking. Their pressure rate of 34.9 percent ranks 12th while their sack rate of 13 percent is 13th. They are ninth in total sacks, but this is a group that many would have expected to be inside the top five.

This isn’t to say that the Rams defensive line has been bad or underwhelming. Again, this is a group that’s made plays in big moments. They were a factor for three of Sam Darnold’s four interceptions in the win against the Seattle Seahawks. Said McVay after the game,

“Oh, they were effective. And that’s where I say stats are for losers because they affected and influenced the game in a huge way. Obviously, Sam is a great quarterback, but he was getting off of his spot. I thought a lot of the pressure that we did get is what led to the decisions where our guys ended up making some great plays to be able to get those four interceptions.

However, they haven’t necessarily met the expectations that many had for them coming into the season. Jared Verse gets a lot of criticism for his lack of sacks, but solely focusing on that aspect of his game is limiting to his actual impact on the Rams defense. There is an analytical balance here and it’s one of those cases where multiple things can be true at the same time.

Yes, sacks are important and the Rams need to do a better job of finishing plays. The Rams have 33 sacks this season and the defense has only allowed four first downs following a sack. A sack finishes a drive at a rate of 87.9 percent. It’s worth almost a full point of impact on a given game. Adding to that, the Rams have also not allowed a touchdown this season on the same drive in which they’ve allowed a sack.

At the same time, that shouldn’t diminish the importance of being able to create pressure as well. Back in 2018, Bill Belichick explained that pressures were more important than sacks. Said Belichick,

“I think if you look at the overall passing game, the statistic that stands out the most in terms of correlation is pressure. So pressure on the quarterback leads to more bad plays than sacks do, in terms of turnovers unless you have strip sacks, obviously. That’s the No. 1. After that, pressures cause bad throws and potentially turnovers.”

Pass-rushers have...