2) The Rams’ secondary went through quite the transformation, trading away Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters and picking up Jalen Ramsey. How does the unit compare to earlier in the season?

It’s been much better since those changes were made. Troy Hill has been a huge upgrade over Talib, arguably better than Ramsey in the last four games, too. Ramsey has played well, don’t get me wrong, but he hasn’t been unstoppable like he was in 2017. His ability to play man coverage and be left on an island has helped the defense significantly, though, allowing Wade Phillips to blitz more and leave Ramsey on an island. The Rams tried that with Peters last year and failed, so that’s where one of the biggest differences is.

Peters was having a good season for the Rams, but he wasn’t great in man coverage and that’s a staple of Phillips’ defense. With Ramsey and Hill, they play a lot of man and have had success with it.