Aaron Donald has led the Rams in sacks in each of the last four years. He was No. 1 in the NFL last season with 20.5, which was also half of the team’s total. He’s been their primary source of pressure since coming into the NFL, but he can’t do it all himself.
He’s gotten some help from his friends this season, but not as much as the Rams would like. Clay Matthews leads the team with six sacks, while Dante Fowler Jr. ranks second with two. Donald is tied with Michael Brockers and Sebastian Joseph-Day, who all have one sack each.
Their 11 sacks as a team rank 19th in the NFL, 13 sacks behind the league-leading Patriots. Donald has gotten double- and triple-teamed regularly and his teammates haven’t done enough to force opponents to adjust.
As disappointing as their 11 sacks are, the Rams are still generating pressure without blitzing a whole lot. They rank seventh in the league with a pressure rate of 26.8%.
Donald has still been the team’s best pass rusher, even though he has just one sack in five games. He also helps the rest of the defense immensely, whether it’s by pressuring the quarterback into poor decisions or getting into the backfield on running plays.
There’s no doubt the Rams’ pass rush still needs to improve, especially with Matthews out at least a month. It’s up to Fowler and Samson Ebukam to rise to the occasion.
