Rams' young defense making its mark

The Rams' defense has come a long way since the start of the season. After giving up 489 total yards in Week 2, the unit has held opponents to fewer than 10 points in five of their past six games. The exception was the Rams' Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks when key players on Los Angeles' defense did not get their typical workload with the NFC West already clinched. The defense as a whole, sans Donald, has gone from perhaps the team's Achilles heel to a group that impressed in a 27-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round Monday, sacking quarterback Sam Darnold nine times to tie an NFL playoff record.