The St. Louis Rams defense started off strong last week. Two interceptions, a pair of sacks and a blocked punt gave the Rams offense more than any offense could ask for in terms of breaks in the first quarter of play. Thanks to Quintin Mikell's interception, the Rams did managed to jump out to a seven-point lead. Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on the opportunities the defense gave them, and you know how the game went from there.
Here are this week's top five defensive plays.
Five
James Hall picked up the first sack of the game late in the first quarter. He sacked Tarvaris Jackson for an 11-yard loss.
Four
That play was followed by a Robert Quinn sack for a loss of nine yards. Seattle punted, and another punt return mistake from Austin Pettis gave the Rams possession at their own nine-yard line. They punted.
Three
Chris Chamberlain's interception on Seattle's second play of the game should have set the tone for this game. Chamberlain has Mike Williams smothered in coverage and wrestles the ball from out of the air, giving the Rams possession at their own 29-yard line. The Rams had to punt on the ensuing possession.
Two
We talked about Mikell's interception in an earlier post. That set the Rams up with their best field position of the day, and they managed to convert it for seven points. Check out the video of Brandon Lloyd's touchdown here.
One
Ok, so technically this is a special teams play, but we have to put rookie Robert Quinn's blocked punt on this list. Quinn partially blocked a Seattle punt with the Rams leading 7-0 at that point in the first quarter. The Rams got the ball on their own 42-yard line. The offense managed to gain ZERO yards on a three-and-out. See Quinn's blocked punt in all its glory right here.