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EARTH CITY, Mo. -- There was plenty for St. Louis Rams fans to cheer about in Sunday's 52-0 destruction of the Oakland Raiders. But while there were 89-yard touchdown runs, one-handed catches and a hat trick of sacks from the team's best player, it was a sack and subsequent celebration that drew perhaps the loudest cheers of the day. That's because the sack came from returning defensive end Chris Long and the celebration was "the Joel," his patented sack dance. It was Long's first sack of the season after he was activated on Saturday from the injured reserve/designated to return list.  "I just felt the love from these fans that have supported me so much, supported us," Long said. "We’ve got great fans here and I just appreciate them greatly. The outpouring of support through probably the longest 10, 11 weeks of my life has gotten me through in a lot of ways. So, it was just great. It was a relief. I just want to help the team win."
Long did just that in his first game since suffering the injury in the season opener on Sept. 7. Long's injury was a unique one in his ankle, the type that few other players had before him. Without much precedent to set a timetable on return, Long began practicing a few weeks back. As the week went on, it became quite clear that Long would return against the Raiders and the Rams made it official Saturday when they added him to the active roster and released linebacker Marshall McFadden to make room. When the Rams' defense came on the field for the first time Sunday, Long was there at his usual spot at left defensive end. As one of the team's emotional leaders, just having him back on the field offered a boost. “With Chris, I think it just helped with emotion," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "He’s an emotional football player. It’s great to have his passion back out there. We obviously know what kind of football player he is and how talented and athletic and skilled he is. To have him back, as a unit, it just means a lot. I know it meant a lot for those guys in that room. He’s a leader in that room, he’s a leader on our whole team. It’s good to see him get a sack and recover a fumble and I’m just happy to have him back.” The defense apparently did enjoy having Long back as it pitched its first shutout since 2006. Long is the most tenured Rams player, and even he hasn't been a part of a shutout in St. Louis so it was a welcome coincidence for it to happen in his first game back. As for his health, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Long was feeling the effects of his return at halftime and he considered resting him in the second half. But with such a big lead, Long lobbied to stay in knowing that there would be some prime pass-rush opportunities in the final 30 minutes. "He was a little sore at half time, came back out and said, ‘I want to get on the board,’" Fisher said. "I said, ‘Well just keep playing see if you get a shot to do it.’ He got a sack call, so it was good to have him back.” Long's sack was one of six on the day for the Rams as fellow end Robert Quinn picked up three, William Hayes had one and Aaron Donald the other. In the fourth quarter, Long tacked on a fumble recovery after one of Quinn's sacks. He finished the day with two tackles for loss, the sack and fumble recovery and a quarterback hit according to the unofficial pressbox statistics. More than anything, Long was just happy to be back. "It felt great," Long said. "It’s been rehab and sitting on the sidelines and having a team hat, and going to meetings is not why I signed up to play football. I want to play and I want to be a part of it. I love these guys. I’ve never been through that and they supported me through it and I just appreciate them more. It was just a great game to come back."
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