The Rams offense is heading into the bye week with a sour taste in its mouth after committing four turnovers and squandering a dominant performance from Los Angeles’ defense. Their struggles go back a few weeks, too, causing the Rams to plummet all the way to 21st in points scored this season.
But there have been some standouts on that side of the ball. Andrew Whitworth, for one, looks like he’s 28 instead of 38. He has yet to allow a single sack and is Pro Football Focus’ fourth-best offensive tackle in pass protection.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar recognized Whitworth’s stellar play in the first half of the season, naming him among the NFL’s most underrated offensive players from the first eight weeks.
Whitworth will turn 39 on December 12, and he’s played both guard and tackle in his NFL career (which goes back to 2006) at an exceedingly high level. He’s continued that into his 15th NFL season, allowing no sacks, no quarterback hits, and six quarterback hurries in 316 pass-blocking snaps. He’s also still a plus run-blocker who has experienced a bit of a performance renaissance over the last two seasons — since the beginning of 2019, per Pro Football Focus, he’s given up just one sack in 1.026 pass-blocking snaps. There are few more fundamentally sound offensive linemen in Whitworth’s era, and it will be interesting to see how his Hall of Fame discussion goes five years after he retires — whenever that may be.
Whitworth has been as steady as anyone for the Rams since 2017, playing at a high level in all three-plus seasons. Even in a down year last season, Whitworth was the team’s best offensive lineman.
The entire offensive line has taken a step forward this season and Whitworth is leading that charge. He signed a three-year extension this offseason and could conceivably play into his 40s, which the Rams would be thrilled with as long as his play doesn’t fall off a cliff.
He’s defying the odds at his age and Los Angeles is reaping the benefits.
