The Los Angeles Rams got some good news before the NFC wildcard round against the Carolina Panthers.
Safety Quentin Lake returned to the 53-man roster after dealing with a dislocated elbow earlier in the regular season that required surgery and forced him to shut down the rest of the season on injured reserve.
“I thought he played at the point of attack… I think it’s great to knock some rust off,” McVay said of Lake’s return to the team after the win against the Panthers.
“Overall, it was great having Q back out there, and then there’ll be some technical things and some things in space that I think he’ll say ‘I can be better there,’ and he will be.”
While his own coach will also trust in his defenders, other people in the NFL world don’t share the same sentiment. One NFL analyst believes that the safety can player better in the next round of the playoffs.
Analyst Makes Bold Claim On Defender
GettyQuentin Lake returned from an elbow injury in the NFC wildcard against the Panthers
Quentin Lake played all 67 snaps on defense in his first game back from his elbow injury (the only defender for the Rams to play all snaps), but had one of the lowest grades from Pro Football Focus in his return to the field, with a 49.5 grade.
It could be attributed to rust, since he was recovering from surgery and had little time to prepare for the game against the Panthers.
The Rams will travel to the Windy City and take on the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional round.
PFF’s Smith Ryan urges Lake to bounce back in his second game from injury, reverse and help the Rams get back on track to a Lombardi trophy.
“Lake returned to action in the wild-card round against the Carolina Panthers but was targeted early and often by quarterback Bryce Young, allowing eight receptions (11 targets) for 94 yards, in addition to committing a defensive pass interference penalty that ultimately resulted in a Panthers touchdown drive,” Smith wrote.
“Lake will need to be better against a Bears passing attack that is peaking at the right time. [Caleb] Williams has thrown for two touchdowns in six straight games, with 17 big-time throws to his credit over that span, setting up a potentially high-scoring game against the Rams with a trip to the conference championship on the line.”
Williams threw for 361 passing yards against the Green Bay Packers, which was his second-best career game in that statistic. The former USC Trojan had the seventh-most passing yards per game in the regular season at 231.9 yards per game.
Bears’ head coach Ben Johnson had the team feeling itself in the win against Green Bay and will use that momentum to attempt to make the conference championship game.
Lake, who is still getting warmed up from his injury, will have to be at the top of his game to help the Rams keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.
Quentin Lake On His Return
GettyQuentin Lake #37 of the Los Angeles Rams
The safety suffered his elbow injury in Week 11 and was placed on IR shortly after.
Quentin Lake mentioned that he felt good entering the playoff game against the Panthers when talking to the media. After the game, the Rams captain feels the same way.
“I’m so glad I was able to be out here and help this team win,” Lake said. “I felt pretty good out there.”
“It was seamless. There’s a couple of things you got to get used to in terms of your body, but speed of the game, the playoffs are always different… It felt good to go out there. I was really confident in my elbow, tackling, covering, all that stuff.”
With the rust now being knocked off, the $42 million defender can play to his usual self and help shut down Caleb Williams in the NFC divisional.
Rams $42 Million Captain Urged To Bounce Back In Divisional Round