The Rams' defense is improving even without Myles Garrett, and now he's coming back from injury

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Myles Garrett still hasn't had a sack or even a tackle for the Los Angeles Rams as they hit the halfway point of the regular season.

With Garrett finally returning to practice this week after a seven-game absence with a knee injury, the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year will rejoin a defense that's been improving and thriving while it waited for the Rams' blockbuster offseason addition to join the fun.

The Rams (4-4) kept their opponent out of the end zone for the second time in three games Sunday during their 24-9 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Rams' defense has allowed just two TDs during this three-game stretch — both in the fourth quarter of a blowout win in Vegas — and has moved into fifth in the NFL with just 301 yards allowed per game.

The defense took charge against the Chargers while the Rams' offense had one of its worst halves in coach Sean McVay's career, starting the game with five consecutive three-and-outs featuring just 24 total yards. The defense made a takeaway and limited the Bolts to three field goals before Matthew Stafford's unit finally got moving.

“What a great job by our defense keeping us in it," McVay said. “Really couldn’t have started any worse offensively. We didn’t even get a first down until the two-minute (warning) at the end of the first half, but defensively, kept getting stop after stop.”

The defense put together this dominant three-game stretch without Garrett and with only about one half of play from star cornerback Trent McDuffie, who missed the first two games with a groin injury. McDuffie returned and made an interception against the Bolts before leaving again with a back injury that doesn't appear to be serious.

The Cardinals, Raiders and Chargers don't provide the toughest three-game stretch of a season for any defense, but after the Rams were shredded by Brock Purdy and Josh Allen earlier this season, they clearly needed this break to regain their confidence in a group that was retooled in the offseason to compete with the league's best teams.

“We're at our best when we face adversity, and no task is too big for us,” said Byron Young, the Rams' sacks leader. “We've started playing more together as well, and you can see it in these last few games.”

Garrett's imminent return from knee surgery will make this unit reasonably whole if it also has McDuffie and cornerback Jaylen Watson, who aggravated a nagging shoulder injury against the Chargers. McDuffie and Watson both arrived in the offseason to shore up the Rams' most vulnerable position, and they've perhaps been the defense's two best players when healthy.

And when Garrett gets back, he'll finally get to play with Aaron Donald, who has slid right back into a prominent role on LA's defense after 2 1/2 years of retirement. While Donald doesn't have a sack in six games, he has been strong on the interior line while helping to make up for the absence of nose tackle Poona Ford.

The Rams' secondary is significantly improved even when McDuffie and Watson are slowed by injuries, and it creates a ripple across the entire defense. Do-it-all defensive back Quentin Lake had an interception during another big game in which he played every snap, while backup cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes and Josh Wallace stepped up at key moments. The Chargers had 257 yards passing, but they were largely empty calories.

The Rams' passing game struggled again whenever the ball wasn't headed to All-Pro Puka Nacua. Stafford passed for a meager 157 yards and threw a bad interception while trying to force the ball to Konata Mumpfield, who didn't have a catch. The Rams also aren't throwing to running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum as frequently as they did earlier in the season, although McVay attributes that deficiency strictly to situational decisions.

Blake Corum had his second straight outstanding game, rushing for 73 yards on 11 carries — with 55 of those on a tone-setting drive out of halftime highlighted by his 23-yard TD romp. Corum looked shifty and speedy against his former Michigan coach's team, breaking tackles and ankles.

McVay insists the Rams aren't looking to trade for a veteran wide receiver even though Mumpfield hasn’t yet seized the opportunity to be the No. 2 receiver in Davante Adams’ absence. Tutu Atwell’s speed is clearly more threatening to defenses, and he had two catches against the Chargers — but McVay is still reluctant to put the undersized veteran on the field regularly.

Garrett returns to practice this week, and the Rams appear to be leaning toward opening the practice window for TE Terrance Ferguson (ankle) as well. ... TE Colby Parkinson is “making really good progress” after missing Sunday's game with a rib injury, McVay said.

25 — Offensive snaps played by rookie tight end Max Klare in his first significant NFL action. McVay finally got his second-round pick on the field and liked what he saw.

The Rams have back-to-back road games heading into their shortened bye week, traveling to Washington this weekend and to Arizona next week for a Cardinals rematch. Getting two more wins in this soft part of the schedule seems vital, both for their playoff hopes and for figuring out how they'll attack a tougher slate in December.

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