ST. LOUIS -- Of all the problems the Rams have had on defense this season, one sticks out like a burned-out string of lights on a Christmas tree.
Sack City has been deserted.
After bringing down opposing quarterbacks 53 times last season, St. Louis has three times as many roughing-the-passer penalties as sacks through three games. Their only one came a week ago, when E.J. Gaines came in on a cornerback blitz and helped Eugene Sims take down Tampa Bay's Josh McCown.
The struggles didn't get any better Sunday afternoon, when the Rams needed a five-man rush to get any kind of pressure on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Sims finally got a timely sack on a late Dallas drive in the fourth quarter, but officials negated it with a truly puzzling holding call on the defensive end.
"We are getting good rushes," says end Robert Quinn, who led the NFC with 19 sacks in 2013. "We have been back there, but when we get our opportunities to get them down, we have to get them down."
To be sure, the Cowboys have one of the better offensive lines in the league, and despite a bad back, Romo's awareness still makes him a surprisingly good escape artist. He made the defense look silly when he scrambled through a huge gap up the middle on third-and-13 deep in Dallas territory on its go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, converting the first down by juking out linebacker Alec Ogletree.
It's fair to wonder if the Rams' pass rush may have taken an even bigger hit than originally thought with the loss of Chris Long, who contributed 8 1/2 sacks and plenty of leadership a year ago. Sims and William Hayes have made a few key tackles in Long's spot, but they've also been responsible for some costly personal fouls.
One of those came on the Cowboys' last drive of the first half, when Sims' arm came down on Romo's shoulder and appeared to give the helmet at most a glancing blow. That led to a Cowboys field goal. In a Week 2 win over the Bucs, Sims contributed to a Tampa Bay touchdown drive when he gave the Bucs 15 yards after what appeared to be a third-down stop on their opening drive.
"It's attention to detail," Hayes says. "We've got to figure out what we're doing wrong and we've got to correct it."
It sounds simple enough, and maybe a bye week will finally help the Rams' D-line take a much-needed step forward. But thus far, the argument could be made that the unit expected to be the defense's strongest has instead been its weakest link.
The linebackers have mostly been solid, and a young secondary has battled injuries well and even got a touchdown when Janoris Jenkins intercepted Romo for a pick-six that put St. Louis ahead, 21-0. Inevitably, though, the defensive backs made some big mistakes when asked to consistently maintain coverage on an excellent passing attack.
First, it was rookie Lamarcus Joyner's clear pass-interference penalty in the end zone to give the Cowboys 26 free yards in the second quarter, and they got another 33 on a tougher call against Jenkins in the fourth. But the most egregious play came in the third quarter, when a seven-man run blitz didn't come near Romo on a play-action pass, and he found Dez Bryant all alone for a 68-yard touchdown pass after Rodney McLeod abandoned his deep safety position in a zone.
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It's worth noting as well that DeMarco Murray became the third rusher this season to reach 100 yards against the Rams, although they did make several plays to blow up his runs in the backfield. Those were less impressive when paired with several big carries, including one for 44 yards down the left sideline.
"We're going to keep working," coach Jeff Fisher says. "Our defense needs to get better in all areas right now."
Before the season, Quinn and Long were among those to caution that all the expectations and hype surrounding the defense, and especially the front four, meant nothing without actual success on the field. It's safe to assume they weren't planning to prove those sentiments right in the worst way.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
