Last year, the Los Angeles Rams had a first round pick for the first time since 2016 and the front office nailed it in taking pass rusher Jared Verse. He is the favorite to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, was named to the Pro Bowl and was outstanding for the Rams during their playoff run as well.
After a 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Rams’ win over the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round, Verse was dominant once again with three tackles for loss and two sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to help the Rams overcome the Eagles as they fell 28-22 in the Divisional round.
It was an outstanding rookie season for Verse, but after the Rams loss all he could think about was the feeling of defeat, and he never wants him or his teammates to experience this again.
“I don’t ever want to feel like this again,” Verse said after the loss. “Don’t want my teammates to feel like this again. I (don’t) want to look in their eyes and see anything but pure bliss and pure happiness. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Verse has no reason to hang his head, nor do the Rams as they gave the Eagles all they could handle in this game. Two big Saquon Barkley runs were the difference in this contest, but no team has been able to contain him all year long.
But this mindset is what makes Verse so special. He had a rookie season most could only dream of that got him named to the Pro Bowl and likely a Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He finished the year with 66 tackles, 18 QB hits, 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries and then added his first career defensive touchdown in his first postseason game.
Yet all that’s on his mind is the feeling he and his teammates felt after losing to the Eagles. There is no doubt Verse will be working like crazy this offseason and the Rams can certainly count him as one of the biggest pieces of this young defense.
Sean McVay felt Rams would come away with win over Eagles
Rams head coach Sean McVay was, like Jared Verse, disappointed in the outcome of the contest against Eagles. McVay did congratulate the Eagles, but ultimately revealed that he never felt the Rams would lose the game before expressing his love for this team as a whole.
“I didn’t see it going any other way than us winning that game, 29-28. I think this game in a lot of ways epitomized the grit, the ability to overcome adversity. Just had a couple things that we couldn’t overcome. There will be some things that we can learn from, but this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation.
“I love this group, I love this coaching staff, I love these players. And I also understand and appreciate how difficult it is to be in positions like this where you’ve got the game in hand – I feel like we had total control toward the latter part of that game – momentum was in our favor and we had an opportunity to win that game and we just came up short.”
