Will Byron Young have a massive game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday? Young has been a good player for the Los Angeles Rams, he's been great at times, but this year the defense isn't generating enough sacks. That includes Young.
The team is getting pressure, but the defense and Young need to finish with sacks. Pressures aren't enough against the best quarterbacks in the league.
It's been a theme for 2026 that this Rams team is good some important areas. They are generating yards, they are holding teams out of the endzone, there are positive in this 2-4 season.
But the Rams aren't scoring enough points to win, and the defense isn't making the key stops at the end of games. The special teams are a mess.
So, can the Rams get right on Sunday? Young having a big game would help.
" Los Angeles Rams fans will make the drive up I-15 this weekend for a team that badly needs a road
win. The Rams are 2-4 after an 18-16 loss to Arizona, they've lost Davante Adams for six to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury, and Kirk Cousins and the Las Vegas Raiders are waiting at Allegiant Stadium. Sean McVay has said the Rams' depth can handle it for now.
Byron Young sacks Kirk Cousins twice
Byron Young has 29 pressures, sixth among 115 edge defenders, and his 22 hurries lead the position, according to PFF
. He has only four sacks, though, and the Rams have just eight as a
team despite one of the league's best pressure rates. They turn pressure into sacks just under 10% of the time, second-worst in the NFL , and we called the pressure-to-sack gap the first fix before Cousins this week."
"Here's a collection of analysts' predictions and previews for Rams-Raiders:
Nine of the 11 ESPN experts chose the Rams to come out on top on Sunday against the Raiders. Picks for every game can be viewed here .
Three of the five NFL.com analysts picked the Rams to beat the Raiders. All their picks are here .
Six of the eight Sports Illustrated staffers picked the Rams to win against the Raiders. All of their Week 7 predictions can be seen here ."
"Former Los Angeles Rams running back Lawrence McCutcheon, a five-time Pro Bowler who amassed four 1,000-yard seasons, has died at the age of 76 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease.
The McCutcheon family revealed news of his passing via a statement, which the Rams shared on Friday."
"But the Rams will have to rely on players like Tyler Davis and Larrell Murchison to play bigger roles this week and into the future.
"Definitely felt terrible," Davis said of when he learned about Turner and Ford's injuries. "But also just wanted to get in the mindset just step up for my guys, for real."
For Davis, whose role has grown with the Rams over the past two-plus years, he will try to keep things to his usual process, not changing the way he studies or prepares even with more snaps coming his way.
"Just focus on our core four and then having the right mindset to go out there and execute, play throughout the full down and fall in love with the process of it," Davis said with a tablet playing practice tape on his lap. "Just get to it."
"Not only does McVay need to get Williams in rhythm, Blake Corum finally showed signs of life as well last week. His nine carries for 42 yards made for his best rushing performance since Week 2 versus the Giants. For the Rams' run game to really get going, both Williams and Corum need to be effective.
Williams only carried 10 times against Arizona, for 50 yards. He has 393 rushing yards on the season, on 4.9 yards per carry, plus 217 yards receiving. The Rams don't need to force-feed Williams on the ground if Corum is also productive, but they should look to get him touches one way or another. His 13 touches in Week 6 were his fewest of the season."
"The Los Angeles Rams are set to play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. This will be a must-win game for the Rams as they look to avoid a 2-5 start. While the Raiders may have been seen as a guaranteed win in recent years, that's not the case this season. The Raiders have played well and nothing is guaranteed with this Rams team. Let's dive into the three biggest matchups to watch.
For the most part, Warren McClendon stepped in well for an injured Rob Havenstein. So much so that when Havenstein was healthy at the end of the year, the Rams simply stayed with McClendon and then didn't draft a replacement when they could have in the first round. However, there were signs that McClendon may not be what the Rams needed when he allowed 11 pressures over three playoff games, including five against the Carolina Panthers and four against the Seattle Seahawks."
"3. Raiders banged up running back room
Speaking of running back duos. The Raiders are on the other end of the spectrum in terms of their running attack this season. They were already 31st in the league in terms of yards per attempt (3.0). Much of that has been due to Ashton Jeanty not being quite himself while fighting through ankle and foot injuries. Now backup Mike Washington Jr is also hurt. The rookie back showed up on the injury report this week with foot and back injuries, causing him to miss Friday's practice and be Questionable for the game. With Jeanty averaging under 2.5 yards per carry the past couple weeks, the Raiders really need to Washington as the change-up."
"Because what began as a season filled with Super Bowl aspirations has become a five-alarm fire, and the team that dreamed of playing for a Lombardi Trophy in its own stadium might need a miracle just to escape the NFC West basement .
After consecutive home losses, including Sunday's humiliating 18-16 defeat to the previously 1-4 Arizona Cardinals, the Rams (2-4) head to Allegiant Stadium for a Week 7 showdown against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-3)."
"Do not let the Raiders isolate Quentin Lake or Jaylen McCollough on Bowers, and bait Las Vegas into throwing the out route. They always look for it; setting it up will give a defender inside leverage to stop those attacks, and Cousins throws it blindly.
Regardless, if the Rams stop Bowers, their offense should do enough to win."
"New injuries have lengthened the growing list of benched veterans. Kicker Blake Grupe and nose tackle Poona Ford are now out for the season . Entering Week 7, LA has eight players from the 53-man roster on injured reserve. But injuries continue to occur. Right now, the casualty count has reached nearly a dozen.
For a team trying to turn the corner, injuries create unwanted uncertainty. The Rams' struggling run defense will be strained to its limits without Ford and Landman. They will face the Las Vegas Raiders also without defensive tackle Kobie Turner, one of the recent IR additions.
The offense could be without its top two receivers. LA has already targeted Nacua and Adams more than 100 times this season; their joint absence would force the offense to transform."
"I don't think Puka is dogging it he puts in the work in practice and on game day it's tough to be a celebrity here in Los Angeles you can't have a normal life and it's tough to trust John Q. Public. One thing his brothers are kinda knuckleheads themselves. I say just put a clause in his contract that protects team and drive him until the wheels fall off and hope he gets a chunk of gold with diamonds sprinkled on it for one of his fingers. " -Kb
