{"id":677466,"date":"2026-01-14T20:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/677466\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T20:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:48:14","slug":"rams-vs-bears-divisional-round-quentin-lake-is-the-key-to-las-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/677466\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams vs. Bears Divisional Round: Quentin Lake is the key to LA\u2019s defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that we\u2019re full-on into the playoffs, it\u2019s time to stop looking in the rearview with our Secret Superstars series<\/a>, and start looking forward to the next game with Postseason X-Factors. The principle is the same \u2014 using game tape and metrics to uncover those hidden gems for every team who are primed to bring their best when their franchises need it the most.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Rams face off against the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round after their comeback win over the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card frame. And they now have a major factor back on the field in the person of defensive back Quentin Lake, whose injury absence had a clear negative effect on Chris Shula\u2019s defense. <\/p>\n

Football is the most interdependent sport, so when we\u2019re discussing the effect of not having one particular player on your roster, you have to look at a lot of different things. Just because things are falling apart on one side of the ball, it doesn\u2019t automatically mean that things would be this or that much better with Player X back in the fold. While Player X has been out, Player Y could have been playing with his own serious injuries, and Player Z, who is replacing Player X until he\u2019s healthy, simply isn\u2019t qualified to run his coaches\u2019 concepts.<\/p>\n

But in the case of Rams defensive back Quentin Lake, the issues in his absence were pretty clear. Lake suffered an elbow injury in the 21-19 Week 11 loss to the Seahawks, and from then through the end of the regular season, L.A.\u2019s defense was not the same. The Rams went from 8-2 to 12-5 without Lake. In the second half of the season, their defensive EPA rose from -0.04 to 0.0 (defensive expected points added is better when it\u2019s negative), the defensive DVOA dropped from third to ninth, pass defense DVOA dropped from second to eighth, and the run defense DVOA dropped from fourth to 14th.<\/p>\n

Plus, Lake got himself a new three-year, $38.25 million contract extension on January 1 \u2014 while he was still coming back from injury. That\u2019s quite a statement.<\/p>\n

Lake returned for the Wild Card Round, and while there were a few rusty spots, his value was very much in evidence.<\/p>\n

Why is Lake so key to what the Rams want to do? Sean McVay will tell you that Lake is crucial on a team with a lot of younger defensive backs with his ability to communicate Shula\u2019s concepts on the field, but the fourth-year man, selected in the sixth round of the 2022 draft out of UCLA, isn\u2019t just there for his big brain. This season when healthy, Lake has allowed 38 catches on 55 targets for 420 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, nine pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 96.0, Lake also has a sack, seven pressures, 51 tackles, 19 stops, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s the football smarts he got growing up \u2014 he\u2019s the son of Carnell Lake, who made five Pro Bowls, a First-Team All-Pro Team, and is a member of the Hall of Fame All-1990s team for his work with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Baltimore Ravens from 1989-2001 \u2014 but Quentin Lake\u2019s on-field acumen is no joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely important,\u201d defensive coordinator Chris Shula said on January 7 of Lake\u2019s return. \u201cHe\u2019s a great player, whether you\u2019re just talking about scheme-wise, or what you can do, and all the things that he does for us. Really what he brings to the team as far physicality, communication, and the questions he\u2019s asking in the meeting room. It\u2019s awesome to have him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take Lake long to re-establish his value in the Wild Card round. With 1:24 left in the first quarter, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young tried to hit receiver Jalen Coker on a backside dig route. Lake, who was playing the deep third, read it all the way and came down for what was almost his own interception, but instead turned into a pass deflection into the hands of cornerback Cobie Durant.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunication and the command,\u201d McVay said on Monday, when asked how he thought Lake did on his return. \u201dI thought he played tough at the point of attack, and I thought there were some things, like anything\u2026 Steph [Curry] and Kobe [Bryant] when they\u2019re off a little bit, I said this to [receiver] Davante [Adams] too, they need to get their shots up and knock some rust off. I thought it was amazing having both of those guys out there. I know you didn\u2019t ask about \u2018Tae\u2019 [Davante Adams], but to get Davante and Quentin back out there brought a big boost to the swag, the confidence, the communication, and overall command.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there are some things that I think are great to knock some rust off. They\u2019ll be the first to tell you because of the standards they have. There were some plays they were proud of and some things that they can learn from. But overall, it was great having \u2018Q\u2019 back out there. Then there\u2019ll be some technical things and some things just in space that I think he\u2019ll say, \u2018I can be better there,\u2019 and he will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a perfect game. Lake gave up a 22-yard pass interference penalty while covering Coker with 1:05 left in the first half, and Coker beat him for a 37-yard gain on the very next play. You could see Lake hoofing it a bit when he\u2019s usually more smooth and in phase downfield. As McVay said, it takes a minute.<\/p>\n

But when you have a defense that plays more snaps in dime (six defensive backs) than any other, someone on the field has to be in charge of making sure everybody is in the right place. This will be equally important against the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round, because at any time, quarterback Caleb Williams can make plays with his arm and his legs, and you could be wondering what happened too often. There\u2019s also the matter of Chicago\u2019s massively effective run game. You need a veteran who can play every DB position on the field as Lake can to set the tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy for him,\u201d McVay said of Lake on January 2, the day after Lake got all that new money. \u201dHe\u2019s well deserving. He\u2019s a guy that, similar to some of the other players that we\u2019ve talked about, that have gotten these extensions or that we\u2019ve onboarded, represents everything that we love about what we want be about with the values and the principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s had great production and great versatility, but more importantly, there\u2019s a reason why he\u2019s basically been unanimously voted as a captain the last couple years. He\u2019s got an incredible way about himself. I think some of these special players elevate people that they\u2019re around in situations they\u2019re a part of. You\u2019ve heard me talk about that before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s who Quentin Lake is. I love him. I love the journey that he\u2019s been on, and I\u2019m really happy that he stuck with me for a few more years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fully returned-to-form Quentin Lake could be a big reason the Rams are able to stick in the postseason last Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now that we\u2019re full-on into the playoffs, it\u2019s time to stop looking in the rearview with our Secret…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[7,1014,58,84504,5089,2444,2611,6,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-677466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-los-angeles","10":"tag-los-angeles-rams","11":"tag-los-angeles-rams-analysis","12":"tag-los-angeles-rams-roster","13":"tag-losangeles","14":"tag-losangelesrams","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-rams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115895422693808544","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}