The Rams held Khalil Mack in check on Sunday, and it wasn’t just because the offensive line played well.
One of the most surprising performances from Week 11 in the NFL was the one by the Rams’ offensive line. With two new starters up front at left guard and right tackle, and another making his first start of the season at center, the Rams completely neutralized the Bears’ pass rush.
Jared Goff threw the ball 18 times and was only pressured once – a rate of just 6%, which is the lowest of his career. The Rams did a great job shutting down Khalil Mack, who didn’t record a single hit on Goff.
This performance left many wondering how the Rams locked up one of the game’s best edge rushers with a rookie right tackle in Bobby Evans. While he got plenty of praise in his first NFL start, Sean McVay deserves much more credit for drawing up a game plan that limited Mack’s impact.
It all started with the play selection. Goff only attempted 18 passes all game long, which was the lowest total of his career. That immediately limited the number of chances Mack had to wreck the passing attack.
Secondly, when the Rams did throw the ball, they drew up plays to get the ball out of Goff’s hands quickly. It was either screens or quick throws to receivers, giving Mack very little time to get going towards the quarterback. Even wiser, the Rams chipped Mack at the line of scrimmage often and doubled him with an extra blocker.
Here’s how every dropback by Goff broke down for Mack:
- Drop into coverage: 7 times (two nullified by penalty)
- Pass rush: 6 times
- Screen passes: 4
- Not on field: 4 plays
So of the 19 times Goff dropped back (he scrambled once), Mack only had six true opportunities to rush the passer. The Rams rarely left their blockers on an island, either. He was often double- and triple-teamed, like on this play, for example.
It starts with Tyler Higbee chipping Mack at the line. Andrew Whitworth then makes Mack go way outside, and he’s helped by Austin Corbett on the inside. Mack still almost gets there, but Goff does a good job of eluding the rush.
On this play early in the game, Higbee locks up Mack initially to set up the play-action. Then, Johnny Mundt, who was lined up as a fullback, comes over to help block and keep Goff clean in the pocket.
It’s a well-designed play, and a rare instance where a tight end is left alone to block Mack at the start.
Here’s another example of the Rams using a chip at the line to redirect Mack’s pass rush. Everett knocks him to the outside, which gives Evans some time to get out wide and force Mack to the outside.
By the time Mack first makes contact with Evans, Goff is unloading the pass to Kupp for a huge gain.
The Bears moved Mack inside on this play in an attempt to prevent a tight end from chipping him, and it was one of his best reps of the game. He got a one-on-one opportunity against David Edwards at right guard and nearly got to Goff.
Again, Goff does a good job to step up and avoid the rush, throwing a beautiful pass to Michael Thomas, who dropped it.
When facing an elite pass rusher, one of the best ways to neutralize him is by throwing screen passes. This is an example of the effect that can have, and the Rams threw passes like this one four times when Mack was on the field.
Higbee and Mundt were left alone to Mack, and holding easily could’ve been called on Mundt, but Goff got the pass away to Gurley for a good gain.
In the one instance where Evans was left alone against Mack, he nearly got bull rushed all the way into Goff’s lap for a sack. Mack is one of the strongest edge rushers in the league, so it’s no surprise he walked the rookie backwards with ease, but Goff helped him out by throwing the ball quickly to Gerald Everett for a first down.
The offensive line deserves credit for the job it did against the Bears’ defensive front. However, when it comes to Mack, they were helped by tight ends and conservative play calls.
He had very few opportunities to actually rush the passer, and when he was left alone against one blocker, he nearly got to Goff.
This isn’t to take away from the job the offensive line did – they had a pass-block win rate of 79%, their best of the season – but unless the Rams are going to be this conservative each week, the group up front still has something to prove.
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