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Jared Verse powers Rams' pass rush with contagious effort and energy in win over Vikings

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – At one point during Thursday night's game against the Vikings at SoFi Stadium, an audible "skol" chant – with the corresponding raised hands and clapping – from some of their fans in attendance took place while Rams safety Kam Curl was down on the field injured early in the first quarter.

Curl was initially questionable to return with a knee injury, but he ultimately did re-enter the game. Still, in the moment, Rams rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse did not take kindly to those chants.

"He pay attention to stuff, and he just knew, when they did that clap when one of our guys was down, that just made him more upset and gave him more energy," outside linebacker Byron Young told theRams.com postgame. "He's definitely that type of guy that he gonna feed off of that, and we needed that."

Although the Vikings would score a touchdown three plays later to end that game-opening drive, the lasting impact showed up over the remainder of the game, an eventual 30-20 Rams victory. And Verse's ensuing effort and energy – in addition to his statistical production – were all over the result.

With 4:46 left in the first half, Verse sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold for a 10-yard loss on 1st and 10 from the Vikings 42. Already behind the sticks, Minnesota was forced to punt three plays later. Given the Vikings' starting field position on that drive, it was a critical possession with the game still tied 14-14. The Rams punted on the possession following that defensive stop, but their offense had consumed enough clock – and punter Ethan Evans had pinned the Vikings at their own 5 on that kick – that the Vikings weren't in a position to add points before halftime, and with the Rams receiving the second-half opening kickoff.

With 5:10 left in the fourth quarter, Verse and outside linebacker Michael Hoecht split a sack of Darnold that led to a 13-yard loss on 2nd and 8 from the Rams' 43-yard line. Behind the sticks again, the Vikings punted two plays later.

Verse's effort on the first sack was especially notable.

"The way I play, I'mma wear you out," Verse told theRams.com postgame. "If you're not fast enough, I'm going to run around you. If you fast enough, you're not strong enough, so I'mma run through you. I'mma wear you out as the game goes on."

All told, Verse chipped in 1.5 sacks that resulted in the Vikings losing 23 yards, as well as 3 QB hits and 3 total tackles (1 for loss) in the victory.

He credited the Vikings for coming up with ways to slow him down, "but when you do that, that leaves everybody else with a one-on-one (matchup). And you gonna regret that, I promise you."

Young, who took down Darnold in the endzone for the safety that effectively put the game away, said it's a "blessing" to rush beside Verse.

"His energy and the way he get to the quarterback every snap, it's unbelievable," Young said. "I've never seen nothing like it. I mean, other than AD (Aaron Donald), but a rookie coming and doing all that, and then just being a leader on the defense at a young age – I look up to him, too, you know? It's amazing. It gives me juice."

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