Los Angeles Rams

Rams defense takes off before rematch with Brady, Buccaneers

Updated Jan. 18, 2022 3:40 p.m. ET

The concern going into Monday night revolved around which version of Matthew Stafford would show up. And ultimately, the good version did.

But Stafford's defense showed up great.

The Los Angeles Rams put the hammer down on the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, using a solid effort from Stafford (13-for-17, 202 passing yards, two touchdowns) and an even more outstanding effort from Aaron Donald & Co.

The Rams' defense held Arizona to 11 points — the lowest total of Super Wild Card Weekend — and allowed the Cards to taste the end zone only a single time. Von Miller sacked Kyler Murray once, and Donald and Greg Gaines each shared a sack.

Donald and Gaines both added a QB hit, and to put a bow on a throwback performance, Miller had three tackles for loss and a QB hit.

The Rams also picked off Murray twice, and one of those was a pick-six, giving L.A. its league-leading fourth on the season. In addition, the Rams tallied six pass deflections on the evening, their third-highest total in a game this season.

L.A. improved to 13-0 when allowing 25 points or fewer this season, and seems to be the key threshold, considering that they are 0-5 when they give up more than 25.

But the list of noteworthy stats doesn't end there. Not nearly.

The Cardinals finished the day 0-for-9 on third down, becoming the third team in the past 20 years to not convert a third down (2018 Colts vs. Chiefs, 2012 Bengals vs. Texans). Arizona's 11 points were the second-fewest it scored all season and its 183 total yards were the second-fewest the team registered in a game this season.

Arizona's 61 rushing yards were its lowest total of the season and its five three-and-outs were the most in a single game this season.

New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl defensive end Cam Jordan joined "First Things First" on Tuesday, and he lauded the Rams' defensive line for its dominance.

"They had Kyler running for his life early and often. … it was a complete takeover," he said. "It looks like the defense is just that good. It looked like the pocket was collapsed at every turn."

Jordan — who plays in the same division as the Rams' next opponent, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — added that if the Rams cam mimic the pass rush in Sunday's divisional round, the defending champions could find themselves on the ropes.

"It's gonna be a lot like the Cardinals-Rams game: It might not show on the stat line that he was sacked seven or eight times, but it might be 18 pressures," he said. "And if you get those pressures, if you can start getting him out of the pocket and start getting him frustrated, that's where you see success."

Cam Jordan: ‘Rams will need to pressure Tom Brady’ I FIRST THINGS FIRST

New Orleans Saints' DE Cam Jordan joins "First Things First" to talk about the Rams' matchup against the Buccaneers. Watch as he breaks down how to find the cracks in the Bucs' armor.

Arguably no one in the league today would know what pressure does to Brady more than Jordan, considering that his Saints defeated Brady twice this season and twice last season.

In Week 8, N.O. hit Brady four times, sacked him three times and intercepted him twice in a 36-27 win. In Week 15, N.O. hit Brady seven times, sacked him four times, intercepted him once and forced one fumble out of the GOAT in a 9-0 victory.

The Saints pressured Brady a combined 13 times in the two wins against Tampa Bay this season.

As for Monday, the Rams hit Murray five times and pressured him four.

The pressure will be on both the Rams and Bucs come Sunday.

But if the L.A. defense from Monday night shows up in Tampa, Brady might be feeling the pressure for a good 60 minutes.