As New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday, there are “no soft landings” in the NFL — that said, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough may face an especially hard landing for his first NFL start.
The Los Angeles Rams defense that the Saints are facing this week will bring one of the league’s most ferocious pass rushes against Shough and a Saints offensive line that is already without its best player in center Erik McCoy. The Rams have recorded 26 sacks, good for second in the NFL through eight weeks.
“We played these guys a couple times last year when we were in Philly, … and this is as good of a defensive line as you’re going to see in this league,” Moore said. “They’re really young and they’ve got tons of energy, tons of juice. They make impact plays. They can do it in a variety of different ways.”
Eleven different Rams defenders have recorded at least one sack in defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s attacking scheme. Third-year edge rusher Byron Young has led the charge with nine sacks — already a new career high — while 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse has four sacks and is tied for second in the league with 17 quarterback hits.
New Orleans got a sense of how tough the Rams are this summer during a joint practice, when Los Angeles consistently made life miserable on the Saints quarterbacks and offensive line.
“They’re probably the best in the league, just from a disruptive standpoint,” Shough said. “... I’ve got to do my role and protect the ball, be ready to step up, find different lanes and just be comfortable back there.”
New Orleans has struggled to keep its quarterbacks upright in recent weeks. After giving up 11 sacks in their first six games, Saints quarterbacks were dropped behind the line nine times in losses to the Bears and Buccaneers.