The Los Angeles Rams came into their Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as heavy favorites, so it was a shock to see them lose, 55-40 at home.
With the Rams offense struggling to begin the 2019 NFL season, they have leaned on their defense to help them win games. Heading into the game against the Buccaneers, Los Angeles had yet to give up multiple passing touchdowns to a quarterback but allowed Jameis Winston to throw for four scores.
To make matters worse, the Rams also saw rookie safety Taylor Rapp go down with an ankle injury. Rapp was carted off the field late in the third quarter and did not return to the game.
Rams head coach Sean McVay provided an injury update on Rapp and the rookie seemed to be in good spirits, according to Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
Sean McVay said S Taylor Rapp would be day-to-day because of his ankle. On a Rams podcast, Rapp said he was "Feeling great," and that he underwent an MRI today. "Everything turned out pretty good," Rapp said.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) October 1, 2019
While the Rams have yet to release a timetable for his return, this is still good news as the injury appeared serious when it occurred. Rapp was unable to put any weight on his foot and had to be helped off the field.
Los Angeles missed Rapp’s presence to close out the game as the Washington product has already established himself as a key piece in Wade Phillips’ defensive scheme. A versatile defensive player in college, Rapp has seen most of his snaps at the safety and linebacker position, allowing Phillips to mix and match his coverages depending on what opposing offenses are looking to do.
While the severity of Rapp’s injury is unknown, it is more than likely that he will miss at least a week or two to allow him to rehab properly. In the meantime, it looks like backup safety Marqui Christian will replace Rapp.
The Rams’ defense struggled all afternoon generating pressure on Winston as he operated from a cleanup pocket on nearly all his dropbacks. Aside from a pick-six he threw to Marcus Peters in the fourth quarter, the former No. 1 overall pick had his way with what looked to be a dominant Rams defense through three weeks.
Despite the embarrassing showing, Los Angeles will be forced to look past it sooner rather than later as they are set to play the Seattle Seahawks to kick off Week 5 on Thursday night. Hopefully after reviewing the game tape, the Rams defense will come out strong and make life difficult for Russell Wilson.
