Ahead of Sunday’s tilt between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, much was made about the Vikings leading the league in sacks. But after entering Sunday’s game with a league-high 44 sacks, Minnesota exited the game with 44 sacks on the season, showing how well the offensive line of the Rams performed.
Besides leading the NFL in sacks, the Vikings had tallied two-plus sacks in every single game prior to Sunday’s contest. So for the Rams to prevent Matthew Stafford from getting sacked once, it’s an impressive feat, especially considering that Andrew Whitworth was inactive.
The #Vikings had two or more sacks in each of their first 14 games this season. Today, they had none on Rams QB Matthew Stafford.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) December 27, 2021
Also, Brian Allen left Sunday’s game early with a knee injury, forcing Coleman Shelton to step in at center. Shelton would seamlessly replace Allen as the offensive line kept Stafford upright for the majority of the contest. With Shelton kicking over to center after starting the game at left guard while David Edwards was in at left tackle, rookie Alaric Jackson was asked to step in at left tackle once Allen went down.
Despite logging a total of nine snaps before Week 16, Jackson finished with the highest PFF grade of any Rams offensive player on Sunday with an 81.3. Rob Havenstein, Edwards, and Allen were all given grades above 70 as well.
It has been impressive to watch the transformation of the offensive line this season despite the interchanging parts being moved around. Los Angeles is hopeful that its offensive line — with whoever may be starting — is able to keep Stafford clean again in Week 17 versus a blitz-heavy team in the Baltimore Ravens.