Before we move into the offseason, there is one area that we must address. That is the Los Angeles Rams defensive line. Just like how I mentioned in the predictions, this positional group was going to be the reason why the Rams win it all, and that is in fact what happened.

Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd and A’Shawn Robinson all had at least one sack and constantly put pressure on quarterback Joe Burrow. According to Next Gen Stats, the Rams defense generated pressure on 41.5% of snaps, and Donald had a 17.5% pressure rate. Out of a total of 41 passes this Rams defensive line had a total of 26 pressures. That is more than half the time Burrow dropped back. No wonder Burrow had a tough time going through his reads.

Despite these staggering numbers, when the game started, the Bengals were taking care of their quarterback, as the Rams didn’t have a sack in the entire first half.

The Bengals were picking up stunts and twists pretty well. But by the end of the game, the Rams recorded seven sacks and joined the company of some of the most dominant defensive lines in Super Bowl history.

So, what happened?

In the first half, the Rams were bringing a pass rush based on their coverage in the secondary. Even if they were in a five man front or four-man front, the defense was just trying to prevent the downfield passing offense.

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In the clip above, the Rams bring more guys to the weakside of the line. This forced Burrow to the right, where more Rams secondary dropped into coverage.

When we look at how the Bengals offensive line, they did a pretty good job getting a good barrier between the Rams defensive line and Burrow.

Now when the Rams brought five rushers in the first half, it was only when the Bengals came out in a jumbo package or double tight (that is when there is a tight end on both sides of the line of scrimmage.)

The Rams came out and rushed with five to match the number of blockers, so there is less of a chance for the offense to double team.

What clicked for the Rams (in order to start bringing five rushers) was the two-minute drive at the end of the first half. The Bengals ran five plays and only gained seven yards.

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In the clip above, the Rams brought five guys in the rush in an uneven tilt. They put defensive tackle Greg Gaines shaded in between the guard and center, and that meant that the left guard is responsible for his guy and also for Donald, who is lined up outside the tackle.

The five-man front started working because the amount of attention that Donald was getting, and how he would clog up the offensive line creating lanes outside. If you only have five offensive lineman and the defense rushes five
 being mindful that you have to give extra attention to Donald, there will be somebody left open.

So, in the second half, the Rams decided that instead of lining up in fronts based on their coverages, they would line up in uneven fronts to exploit that attention that the Bengals were giving Donald.

The difference between the four-man rush in the very first clip of this article and this clip below is how the Rams ran double twists.

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In the picture below, early in the game (left) the center picked up the stunts beautifully as the weakside of the line gave enough time for Burrow to go through his reads.

Later in the game (right, and clip above) the Rams started running those twists on both sides of the line, forcing the center to have to choose which twist he wanted to help.

Now, the Rams took this same concept (exploiting the center), and they started bringing five rushers. They would put a defensive tackle on the center’s outside shoulder, leaving an even number of defenders on each side of the line. This gave the Rams EOR: equal opportunities for rushers.

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Then this would leave the middle (A-gap) wide open for a linebacker to come through. Ernest Jones ended up getting picked up by the running back, who just couldn’t keep him contained. Jones ended the game with a sack, three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and one pass defended.

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Even when the Bengals put a tight end in the backfield to help with the pressure, they still gave all their attention to Donald; which left mismatches on their backside guards.

Just look at how the center watched Donald as there were already two blockers to pick him up.

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So, when we look back at the game plan for the Rams, the pressure wasn’t always from blitzes or particular twists/stunts with Donald. The Rams adjusted away from Donald, giving other guys opportunities to win their one-on-one matchups. According to Pro Football Focus, a total of five pass rushers ended up with a grade above 80.2 in the Super Bowl. The Rams won this game in the trenches, and with their second-half adjustments.

The Rams five-man rush became too much for Burrow, and he began to see ghosts by the fourth quarter.

If there is one thing the Bengals learned from this game, it was that they should grab some better offensive lineman in the off-season who can match up one-on-one without investing so many bodies to one player. This was an obvious team deficit throughout Cincinnati’s remarkable season, and never more so than in the Bengals’ biggest game.