There was a slight sense of panic when Andrew Whitworth was carted off the field last week during the Rams’ win over the Seattle Seahawks. He’s been the steadiest and best offensive lineman for the Rams since 2017, leading both on the field and off it.
Joe Noteboom immediately stepped in at left tackle and played well, helping limit the production and impact of Carlos Dunlap. That was in about half the game, however, so the sample size was small.
On Monday night against the Buccaneers, Noteboom played all 72 offensive snaps and looked every bit like a starting-caliber tackle. That’s not only great news for the Rams in the immediate future as Whitworth recovers from a knee injury, but also long-term in the event that the veteran retires after the season.
Following the win, Sean McVay recognized Noteboom for the way he played, specifically holding his own against Jason Pierre-Paul.
“I thought Joe Noteboom stepped up in a big way,” McVay said.
In the last two weeks, Pro Football Focus has given Noteboom an 85.9 pass-blocking grade. He’s allowed just two pressures on 70 pass-blocking opportunities, which is a stellar rate, needless to say.
And it’s not as if he’s had easy assignments in those two games against the Seahawks and Buccaneers, either.
Over the past two weeks, Joseph Noteboom has an 85.9 pass-blocking grade (@PFF) on 70 pass-blocking reps. He's allowed 2 pressures.
He also has the highest grade among all of the Rams' OL in pass pro outside of the man he replaced in Andrew Whitworth over the past 2 weeks. https://t.co/Z9q17Xtbxv
— Sosa K (@QBsMVP) November 24, 2020
When you consider Jared Goff threw 51 passes and wasn’t sacked a single time, the offensive line deserves a ton of credit for that. He wasn’t even hit once by Shaquil Barrett or Pierre-Paul, either, with the only three hits he took coming from Devin White on a blitz and William Gholston.
Goff expressed confidence in Noteboom all week leading up to this game, and after the victory, his faith didn’t waiver.
“Joe did great. Joe did really well. It was good to see,” Goff said. “Again, that’s a really good defensive line. It’s one of the top defensive lines in the league and for him to come in do what he did. Again, he’s a guy that we’ve played a bunch so we have a lot of faith in him and his ability, but for him to come in against a couple good pass rushers and play the way he did was tremendous. I think the offensive line deserves credit for tonight. That front four was, like I said, one of the best in the league. They kept me clean all night and did a hell of a job and I can’t speak enough about him.”
Whitworth isn’t expected to return until the playoffs, so Noteboom could hold down the left tackle spot for another six games. There’s no doubt Whitworth will reclaim his place as the starting left tackle when healthy, but Noteboom is earning trust in the coaching staff that he can be the heir to Whitworth’s throne when No. 77 retires.
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