EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Four days after turning in one of the most impressive defensive performances by any team this season, the St. Louis Rams couldn't help but think about the busted coverage that prevented them from shutting out the high-powered Denver Broncos.
"I feel like it was a good performance but I felt like we did leave some things out there," safety T.J. McDonald said. "As good as we did play, I thought we could have played better. I honestly thought we could have held them to zero points and I feel like we could have had that one touchdown back."
It's that approach that has the Rams champing at the bit to get back on the field to offer up another dominant defensive effort this week against the San Diego Chargers.
Considering there has been little to complain about from the Rams' defense in the past three weeks, searching for things like shutouts is one way to keep fueling the fire. The other way is far more obvious.
"I'm not going to pat ourselves on the back," middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "If you look honestly we are 4-6 and so a below-average football team on paper. So we've got to be able to string games together one at a time and quite frankly, I'm not going to let this team get complacent. We're going to have to come out here and really raise expectations."
Expectations have already been raised as a result of the past three weeks. Through the team's first seven games, the Rams ranked 19th in the league in yards allowed per game (375.6), 31st in run defense (144.29 yards per game), last in opponent QBR (86.4) and, most shockingly, had just six sacks, which was also last in the league.
For a team built to rely heavily on its defense to keep it in games, the opposite was true. The Rams were leaning heavily on an offense led by a third-string quarterback to keep the team in games. Failing that, they resorted to fake punts and creative returns to steal wins.
In going 2-1 the past three weeks against San Francisco, Arizona and Denver, the Rams' defense has been at the center of the storm.
It's started with an improved performance against the run, where the Rams are allowing just 45.33 yards per game, which is second in the NFL in that span. By slowing the run first, the Rams have allowed their pass rush to get after more quarterbacks and for defensive backs to be more aggressive in coverage knowing the pass rush is always close.
"I thought going into the year we'd have a defense that could stop the run really well," Laurinaitis said. "Early in the year we didn't do it well but now that we have it's allowed the pass rush to get after it. When teams can't run at you during a football game, you allow our D-line to rush and you add some blitzes there and you look very multiple for an offense, it can be very confusing. You have to put in the work early in the game to get to those moments and the last few weeks we've done that."
The Rams have racked up 13 sacks in that same time frame, which also is second best, and their opponent QBR has diminished to just 28.9, which is fourth best in that time. Put most simply, the Rams' defense is playing fast and reacting to what's happening rather than getting caught thinking through everything.
But that doesn't mean that everything has been perfect. The defense still has a bad habit of having a miscommunication or mistake or two every week that leads to a big play. Denver's lone touchdown last week came when cornerback Janoris Jenkins failed to stay on top of coverage on receiver Emmanuel Sanders for a 42-yard score. Those types of plays have been all too familiar and if they continue, it's likely the Rams won't always be able to overcome them.
With a defense leading the charge to whatever awaits the Rams the rest of the season, the margin for error is slim.
"We've been somewhat consistent," coach Jeff Fisher said. "We're playing very hard. We've been efficient against the run, some turnovers, pressuring the passer. We've been tackling pretty well. We have to keep doing that. You can't afford at this time of the year to have an off day defensively."