Players make their names in the playoffs. It is a simple fact. Each game is a spectacle of hard-hitting action fueled by the fear of elimination. It is a high-intensity environment designed to bring out the best and the worst in people. The best rise and the rest fall. The ultimate proving ground in a sport full of debate.
The 2024 Rams will walk into their Monday night matchup against Minnesota confident in their ability to defeat the Vikings. They did so already and are refreshed and ready to roll. In that game, Pro Bowler Jared Verse balled out, sacking Darnold 1.5 times. Byron Young sealed the game with a controversial tackle that resulted in a safety against Minnesota.
Young and Verse are the flanking forces on the Rams' young and hungry defensive line. The likes of Young, Verse, Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner all combine for just six years of NFL experience and 28.5 sacks in 2024.
Reminiscent of the legendary "fearsome foursome" of the 1960s, Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones were joined by Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier. Jones, like Turner, would eat up double teams, while Olsen, like Fiske, got the one-on-one matchup inside. Verse and Young fire off the edge with the same intensity Grier and Lundy did decades ago.
Well, the young core of the Rams will have a prime opportunity to make their mark on Monday. The pass-happy Minnesota Vikings will rip the Rams apart if their pass rushers do not get home. For players like Verse who leads all rookies in QB hurries and Fiske who leads all rookies in sacks, it's go time.
For Young and Turner, it's about redemption after their Wild Card loss at Detroit last season. If the Rams win and either the Eagles or the Buccaneers do as well, the Rams will go to Detroit.
For all four men, the NFL is not talking about them with the amount of attention or reverence they deserve. That's okay, let them remain ignorant but it would be no surprise to see Vikings QB Sam Darnold picking himself off of the turf time and time again on Monday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Rams' New "Fearsome Foursome" Ready to Establish Their Names in Postseason.