Rams' O-Line, Matthew Stafford Bruised And Battered vs. Bengals

The Los Angeles Rams' offensive line had the preseason's injury bug come biting against the Cincinnati Bengals, and quarterback Matthew Stafford paid the price.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford likely felt a blast to the past back to his days with the Detroit Lions.

He took six "blasts" from Cincinnati Bengals defenders Monday night, which was the second-most times he has been sacked in a game since joining the Rams in 2021. Some hits were so hard that he probably thought he was in the "past."

Nevertheless, the Rams dealt with injury issues but that's no excuse for letting the Bengals get after your 35-year-old quarterback that is a big reason why you have the one win that you do.

"We had to catch up a little bit there, so we were just trying to get as many guys out in the protection or out in the pass game as we could," Stafford said after the Rams' 19-16 loss. "We'll take a look at that and see what those guys' injuries are, see how they're feeling and move forward from there. I was impressed with the guys that stepped up and the way they played."'

Rams QB Matthew Stafford suffers yet another sack vs. the Bengals / USA Today Sports

Rams right guard Joe Noteboom and left tackle Alaric Jackson exited the game with knee and thigh injuries, respectively. Noteboom was able to return to the game later.

In their places, Zach Thomas played left tackle and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. played right guard. Thomas allowed two sacks in 29 pass-blocking snaps, while Anchrum received a 0.0 pass-blocking grade as his only snap was a 15-yard facemask penalty, according to Pro Football Focus.

Head coach Sean McVay said after the game that moving Noteboom to left tackle — a position he also worked at during training camp — is something that could be examined if Jackson is out "for an extended period of time."

"Zach Thomas had done a really good job with a lot of the repetitions that he had gotten," McVay said. "(We) felt like making a two-man switch wasn't in the best interest. We'll look at the tape and figure out if that's something that we want to do moving forward."

Trey Hendrickson was by far the Rams' worst nightmare Monday, bringing down Stafford twice. However, he had two sacks get taken off the board — one due to a facemask penalty against Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard and another due to off-setting flags.

Another killer was when Rams defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon made a spectacular interception grab while trailing 16-9 in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles had a chance to drive down and tie the game with a touchdown, but Hendrickson and BJ Hill brought down Stafford on consecutive plays to force a punt.

In addition to the six sacks, Cincinnati got four extra hits on Stafford which is a formula for disaster with a quarterback in his 15th season in the NFL.

The problems on the Rams' offensive line are as much about keeping the offense's momentum going as it is about keeping Stafford healthy for a full 17-game season.