Rushing the passer was a strength of the Los Angeles Rams this season, constantly putting quarterbacks in tough spots by collapsing the pocket and hurrying throws. They ranked third in the NFL with 50 sacks in their 17 regular-season games, led by Aaron Donald’s 12.5 and Leonard Floyd’s 9.5.
As great as the Rams pass rush was in the regular season, it’s been even better in the playoffs. According to Next Gen Stats, they’ve increased their pressure rate from 26.6% in the regular season to 31.7% this postseason. Von Miller has taken his game to another level in the playoffs, going from a 9.8% pressure rate to 18.4% in three postseason games, totaling 15 pressures since the playoffs started.
One of the biggest weaknesses of the Bengals is their offensive line. Joe Burrow was sacked more than any other quarterback, going down 51 times in the regular season. He was good when pressured this season, but since the playoffs started, his numbers have tapered off.
His completion rate dropped from 64.3% when pressured during the regular season – top three in the NFL – to only 47.6% in the playoffs. He’s averaging only 4.3 yards per attempt in the playoffs compared to 9.7 in the regular season, and his passer rating under pressure has dropped 54.6 points from 94.6 to only 40.0 this postseason.
Obviously, this is all very good news for the Rams, who have allowed a passer rating of only 10.8 when the quarterback is under pressure, giving up zero touchdown passes and picking off three passes, yielding a completion rate of just 26.5%.
The key to this game is going to be pressuring Burrow. Given the poor play of Cincinnati’s offensive line, particularly at guard where Donald will be wreaking havoc, the Rams shouldn’t have much trouble keeping Burrow under duress on Sunday.
And when he is pressured, they must capitalize on errant throws with interceptions and incompletions.
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