"There are no heroes in run defense."
When Cody Alexander, defensive football expert and creator of MatchQuarters.com, said that to theRams.com, it perfectly described the genesis of Los Angeles' improvement against the run this season. Stopping the run is about fulfilling individual roles so that the collective can succeed. As Rams players and coaches often say, it's about everyone playing their "one of 11."
Last year, the Rams' season ended due in large part to explosive runs by the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round. Through seven weeks of the 2025 season, L.A. is the only team that has yet to allow a run of 20 or more yards, despite facing some of the best rushing offenses in football. That improvement is a product of collective execution and in-game adjustments.
"Just being intentional," Verse said when asked what has led to the Rams' improved run defense. "I say it all the time, but you have to do your one of 11. I feel like this year, everyone's just genuinely doing that. Do your one of 11 and you don't have to focus on anything else. Then if the play comes to you and if it comes to your gap, then make the play, but that's it."
Verse has acknowledged that last year, he often tried to do too much in the run game. He wanted to be the hero, and others did too. But that only gave opportunities to opposing offenses that likely wouldn't have existed if everyone had stayed true to their positional responsibilities. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula has gotten the Rams' young front to trust in the system more this season, and it's showed up on the film and the stat sheet.
On designed runs (not including sneaks), the Rams's defense ranks eighth in the NFL in yards per attempt allowed (3.9), seventh in rushing yards over expected (-34), 11th in yards before contact per attempt (0.9) and 13th in success rate allowed (39%), according to Next Gen Stats. All of those marks are significantly better than what the Rams' defense produced last season, and it's come during a seven-game stretch where they've played some of the most dynamic backs in the NFL.
Over the past five weeks, L.A. has held Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and Travis Etienne to a combined 315 yards on 89 carries, which equals a combined 63 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry. Four of those five backs have earned First Team All-Pro honors at least once in the past five years. Henry was the only one to eclipse 100 yards, and he didn't have a run longer than 12.
The addition of inside linebacker Nate Landman and nose tackle Poona Ford have certainly made an impact in that success. Ford's presence in the middle of the line demands double teams, and allows defensive ends like Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner to play more their more natural three-technique position, Alexander said. Landman, meanwhile, does "all the dirty work" to clean up rushers who break through the line. But this year, few have reached the second level untouched.
"You're winning one-on-ones, you're getting more contact deeper into the line of scrimmage," Alexander said. "So you're not just getting guys that are just running through. You're not getting that vertical push (from offensive lines)."
Alexander also pointed out a small tweak in the Rams' schematic front that puts the center in conflict, creating more one-on-one matchups for interior defensive linemen, which they win more often than not. That makes the linebackers' jobs easier as well, because they "aren't getting people pushed into their lap," Alexander said, and Landman has been a big beneficiary of that.
The fact that Verse "destroys tight ends," as Alexander put it, and creates downward force on the offensive line also helps the Rams blow up rushing lanes in the backfield at times.
"It's the guys we acquired and the guys from last year," Shula said. "I think there were times where we showed some prolonged glimpses where we played good run defense. I think we can continue to do that and it's just about being consistent."
When things haven't gone their way this season, which has been rare, Shula and the defense have adjusted. In Week 6, Ravens running backs got consistent chunks on the ground in the first half, totaling had 106 yards on 4.8 yards per carry going into the locker room. In the second half, they totaled 32 yards on 4.0 yards per carry.
Afterwards, Verse said the Rams noticed that the Ravens' run game wasn't designed to get to the edge, leading L.A. to put heavier personnel on the inside to bottle up the inside rushes. The Rams carried the momentum gained from three-straight goal line stops on the one-yard line into the second half when they activated that contingency plan.
"That was something that we had talked about going into the week based on some of the different things that they had shown that they were capable of executing at a high clip," head coach Sean McVay said the next day. "We wanted to try to be able to eliminate some of the vertical seams and getting cut out of our gaps. It's a collective responsibility."
Last year's playoff loss would have benefitted greatly from a contingency plan as affective as that one, when the Rams allowed 8.4 yards per carry to Philadelphia. This season, they haven't allowed more than 4.9 yards per carry in a game, and bottled up the Eagles for 3.2 yards per carry.
As McVay always says, you can't let teams "beat you twice" by dwelling on mistakes rather than learning from them. The Rams have done the latter, even across seasons.
