For a moment, it appeared as though the New York Giants were on the verge of sending the game to overtime as they marched into Los Angeles Rams’ territory in the final minutes of action. Fortunately, cornerback Darious Williams managed to quell any hope of a potential upset by picking off quarterback Daniel Jones to secure the 17-9 victory and 3-1 start to the 2020 NFL season.
Williams has shown a knack for making big plays when the Rams are in need of one. He proved as much after recording an interception on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in the end zone during the Week 2 win before following it up with the biggest play of his career so far.
The former undrafted free agent found himself in an ideal position to make big plays and managed to find a way to capitalize. Fortunately, it appears to be all part of the plan.
Williams admits that he foresaw the route Jones was trying to get to wide receiver Damion Ratley, per Emmanuel Morgan of the L.A. Times:
“The release, the stem, everything, I knew that was kind of his play,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, luckily I just made a play on it.”
Williams added that he hopes to continue establishing himself as a bonafide playmaker for this defense:
“That’s just God blessing me,” Williams said. “ … I just try to be a red dot, somebody that’s dangerous on the field, and I want every quarterback, everyone that targets me to know it’s a 50-50 chance of getting a pick. I think it’s really the positions I’m in and just capitalizing on them.”
The emergence of Williams gives the Rams a surplus of young talent to provide quality depth in the secondary. It is safe to say that his big-play ability could have him poised for an increased role.
Williams was not the only one making big plays versus the Giants as the defense put together a dominant performance to carry the struggling offense to a win. Despite the pass-rush being a point of concern to start the 2020 campaign, they feasted on Jones’ protection with five sacks and eight quarterback hits.
While it may have been an ugly win for Los Angeles, there were plenty of silver linings to be optimistic about on the defensive side of the ball moving forward.
