The old adage says that football is won and lost in the trenches. If this year’s Super Bowl is anything to go by, there is certainly some truth in that statement. The Rams would not have won their first Lombardi Trophy in over two decades were it not for their defensive front.
Much will be made of their star power, but what really impressed was their ability to make adjustments. The Rams had just one sack in the first half and weren’t really getting to Joe Burrow. Everything changed after Tee Higgins’ 75-yard touchdown at the start of the third quarter. They held the Bengals to just three points on the six subsequent drives. Cincinnati managed just 61 total yards in that period, averaging 1.9 yards per play. Joe Burrow was sacked six times.
So how did they do it? And what changes did defensive coordinator Raheem Morris make at halftime? These are the three things that helped the Rams to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Blitzing Joe Burrow
One thing the Rams did differently in the second half was to blitz more. This might sound simple and that is because it is. The Bengals hadn’t had much success running the ball and they were leaning on their passing attack. This is an offense that likes to stretch the field, meaning they run a lot of five and six man pass protections.
By sending a blitzer, the Rams not only forced Burrow to get the ball out quickly. They also guaranteed favourable matchups. If the Bengals were in a six man protection they knew either Aaron Donald or Von Miller would be one-on-one. If it was a five man protection they both would be.
The Bengals often tilted their pass protection towards Aaron Donald and that provided opportunities on the other side of the line. On this play just before halftime the Rams are in an Overload front. The Bengals respond with a half-slide protection, meaning everyone from the left tackle to the right guard slides left. This leaves the right tackle to stop Von Miller (#40) one-on-one and the running back to pick up any second level blitzer.
Both Ernest Jones (#50) and Von Miller make great plays and beat their man. Burrow does get the pass off, but they are able to lay a hit. This was one of the few times the Rams blitzed in the first half and it set the tone for what was to come later.
Blitzes are notorious for causing problems with half-slide protections, so the Bengals responded by using more man protection. That’s as simple as it sounds, with each lineman responsible for blocking the player opposite him. That comes with its own problems though, namely leaving linemen one-on-one. Smart defenses can also move players around and vary their fronts to get favourable matchups.
On this play the Rams do just that. They widen their defensive front, with their two best pass rushers in Donald and Miller playing either side of the nose tackle. That leaves them one-on-one with guards, which is an obvious mismatch in a passing situation.
The wide alignment of Donald and Miller also causes problems for the guards, who have to get width quickly. This leaves them open to inside counters, with Miller winning his matchup immediately. The rest of the pocket crumbles and Miller stops Burrow from climbing the pocket. This sack ended the Bengals’ drive.
Simulated pressure
The Rams aren’t stupid and know that you can’t just send the house on every play. Burrow has been one of the best quarterbacks against the blitz this season and he would have picked them apart if they’d kept sending extra rushers at him.
That is where simulated pressure comes in. Simulated pressures are where defenses bring a second level player (either a linebacker or a defensive back) and drop a defensive lineman into coverage. It causes problems for the offensive line, as the lineman tasked with blocking the player who dropped into coverage is now wasted.
This play at the end of the second quarter was a textbook example of how to run a simulated pressure. The Bengals are in 3-Jet protection, meaning that they are sliding the protection towards Aaron Donald. This leaves the left guard and left tackle to block the other two defenders (#91 and #54) one-on-one.
The problem comes when Von Miller (#40) drops back into coverage. This leaves three offensive linemen blocking just Aaron Donald. On the other side, Ernest Jones (#50) comes on a blitz, giving the Rams a 3-on-2. Jones gets past the guard and tackle untouched an puts Burrow under immediate pressure. He didn’t get the sack, but the blitz forced Burrow out of the pocket and the Bengals actually lost a yard on his scramble.
The Rams also made use of five man fronts, knowing that the Bengals would respond by running man protection schemes. They would then drop one of the defenders into coverage. This meant that they still got favourable one-on-one matchups for their stars, but didn’t have to devote an additional rusher to do so. This play was one of the better examples of how this worked.
The Rams are running an Eagle front, with three down linemen all lined up between the tackles. Once Burrow snaps the ball, Leonard Floyd (#54) drops back into coverage, leaving the left tackle with no-one to block. He helps out his left guard in double teaming A’Shawn Robinson (#94), but on the other side Aaron Donald and Von Miller both have favourable one-on-ones. Their pressure forces Burrow to step up in the pocket, straight into the arms of Robinson.
Stunts
One of the other tricks defenses employ in the pass rush department is stunts. Stunts – also known as ‘twists’ and ‘games’ – are moves by two or more rushers, who cross paths to switch assignments. These moves cause problems for offensive linemen, who have to pass off their respective players in order to prevent a free rusher.
A major benefit of stunts is that they make it easier for defenses to create pressure without sending additional rushers. On this play the Rams are in a four man front and are running Tex stunts on either side of the line. That means that the two defensive tackles will rush first and try to occupy the guard and the tackle. Both defensive ends then loop around, with the only the center free to block them.
The Rams execute this play perfectly. Both sets of guards and tackles are occupied, leaving the center in a no-win situation. He can pick up one of the looping ends, but the other is guaranteed to get a free run at Joe Burrow. In this case the center blocks Leonard Floyd, with Von Miller getting through for the sack, leaving the Bengals with a 3rd and 22.
The Rams also incorporated stunts into their blitzes to make life even more difficult for the offensive line. On this play they are running a five-man front again, knowing that the Bengals will go into man protection. These kind of plays are seriously difficult for offensive linemen to stop and require a high level of communication to pass off different pass rushers.
Ernest Jones (#50) occupies the center, before looping around the defensive tackle and defensive end. On this play the Bengals actually do a pretty good job of passing off the stunt. The problem is that the right guard and right tackle are both left with one-on-one matchups. Aaron Donald predictably beats the guar and finishes with the sack on Burrow.
The ability to make adjustments in crucial moments is what separates a good coach from a great one. Much of the praise for this Super Bowl win will rightly go to Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, but they wouldn’t have been lifting the Lombardi Trophy without Raheem Morris and this defensive front.
