ESPN analyst says this is the Rams' top 'concerning weakness'

The Los Angeles Rams are skidding into the postseason with two losses in their past two games. While there is still one more regular-season game left on the docket, all it will do is decide if the Rams play as the No. 5 or the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.

Every team has its weakness, and the Rams' one has been exposed a few times this season. ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote that the Rams' biggest flaw is their short-yardage run defense — meaning that while they're good at preventing long runs, the defensive front is bad at allowing a lot of tiny runs that sustain drives.

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The Rams allowed the third-fewest second-level yards per carry (runs that gained 5-10 yards after the line of scrimmage) and an NFL-best open-field yards per carry (runs that gained at least 11 yards past the line of scrimmage).

However, as Schatz writes, the Rams have stuffed running backs for a loss or no gain on 12.2% of carries, which ranks 31st in the NFL, ahead of only the Cincinnati Bengals. Even worse: The Rams allow a short-yardage run conversion (one to two yards) on third down, fourth down or at the goal line 74% of the time. Thank mark ranks 26th in the league.

It's not a good weakness to have against this playoff field. Most of the Rams' possible playoff opponents have converted short-yardage runs over 70% of the time this season, including Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Carolina and Tampa Bay.

The Rams' run defense was a major issue in 2024 and was a priority for Les Snead and Sean McVay to fix this year. They've mostly accomplished this with the addition of Poona Ford and the development of the rest of the defensive line. However, they still fail at preventing minute runs and instead have emphasized keeping running backs contained to medium-sized runs. And the cracks are emerging overall, as the Rams have given up 390 rushing yards in their past two games and 933 since Week 11

NFL games are won in the margins, and the Rams haven't been good in this margin so far this season.

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This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: ESPN analyst says this is the Rams' top 'concerning weakness'