Why losing Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett might have made the Rams defense even stronger

You won’t hear an NFL head coach say that the best thing that could happen to his football team is to lose a couple of its best players. But sometimes, if it happens in October, it can be exactly what a team needs in the long run. Not because injuries are blessings in disguise.They’re not.

Injuries are as much a part of the game as first downs and field goals.Championship teams aren’t built solely on the backs of a couple superstars.

They’re forged in the uncomfortable moments when the next man up on the depth charts has to prove he belongs. And that’s exactly what the Los Angeles Rams discovered last Sunday in Philadelphia. With three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year award winner Aaron Donald sidelined by back soreness and reigning DPOY Myles Garrett recovering from a knee procedure, the Rams walked into Lincoln Financial Field without two of the most feared defensive players of their generation. They walked out with a 24-20 victory and something that could prove to be considerably more valuable come December and January: a defensive front that knows it can win without either of them.  The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The Eagles managed just 172 total yards, including just 93 passing yards.

Philadelphia averaged a miserable 3.0 yard per play and was a jaw-dropping 0-for-12 on third down.Against an offense featuring Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and one of football’s most formidable offensive lines, Los Angeles turned third down into an exercise in futility. And the most encouraging part for the Rams wasn’t who made the big defensive plays, but how many different players contributed to them. Kobie Turner played 48 defensive snaps, nearly 80% of the total.

Braden Fiske logged 44, his heaviest workload since the middle of last season, ...