By just about every measure, the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line has been better this season than it was in 2022. Granted, that’s a low bar to cross, given all the injuries suffered up front last year. However, with Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson all stepping in as new starters next to Coleman Shelton and Rob Havenstein, it’s reasonable to say the group has improved and played relatively well through seven weeks.
Hopefully that sentiment holds true after Sunday’s game when the Rams face the Cowboys.
Dallas presents the biggest test yet for the Rams’ offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, the Cowboys rank second in pass-rush grade (90.3) this season, behind only the Browns.
The Rams have been tested a handful of times this season by the pass rushes of the 49ers, Steelers, Eagles and Bengals – all of which rank in the top seven in pass-rush grade – but the Cowboys are statistically better than any group Los Angeles has faced this year.
According to the charts below, the Cowboys have the highest pressure rate of any team and the second-quickest time to pressure. That puts them in their own section of the charts, similar to what we’ve seen when Aaron Donald is compared to other interior pass rushers.
Click the post to see the full charts.
How often teams are generating pressure (y-axis) compared to how fast they're generating pressure (x-axis). I also split it up by non-blitz plays (left graph), and all plays incl blitzes (right graph) but not a major difference for either team pic.twitter.com/8vF4LPXt8k
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) October 26, 2023
Pro Football Focus has not graded the Rams’ pass blocking very well, ranking them fourth-worst with a pass-block grade of 47.3. Alaric Jackson just had his worst game yet against the Steelers when he allowed six pressures, and that wasn’t even against T.J. Watt. Now he has to face Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Osa Odighizuwa could be a problem for Los Angeles on the interior, too. He has 18 total pressures and a pass-rush grade of 81.8, per PFF, so he’ll present some challenges for Avila, Shelton and Dotson.
We could see the Rams adjust and use more quick passes to get the ball out of Stafford’s hands quickly, preventing the Cowboys pass rush from getting home because if they can’t block Dallas’ defenders, it’ll be a long day.