Jared Verse hilariously reflects on not being invited to ‘fire party’

The Los Angeles Rams was planning a party Monday night, but rookie running back Jared Vers didn’t get the memo. The Rams defense was outstandingby setting a playoff sack record Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold nine times and scored a touchdown after one of the resulting fumbles. Although he played a key role in the Rams’ 27-9 victory over the Vikings, Verse’s name was missing from the tally.

He laughed after the game, noting how all his teammates got into the action but him. Kobie Turner had multiple sacks, Braden Fiske recorded one, Neville Gallimore finished with 1.5, Byron Young added 1.5 and Ahkelo Witherspoon chipped in with one, spreading the sack totals across the board.

Jared Vers’ funny take on the Rams’ firing party

“To see Kobe go out there and have two-and-a-half, three sacks — whatever he had — go crazy,” Rams the defensive lineman said. “You see Fiske go crazy. Everyone will go crazy. Neville freaks out. I JUST FREAKED OUT. Ahkelo there. I’m like, what the hell? It’s a party and I’m not invited.”

It’s surprising, given that Verse led the team in pressures but somehow didn’t get into the sack action, while eight Rams defenders recorded at least half a sack.

Although The verse didn’t register a sack, but it still made a significant impact at the game. He returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown, recorded six pressures and made two tackles, often facing double teams from the Vikings.

Braden Fiske has been dominant all season. In the regular season, he had 44 tackles, 24 assists, 8.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. In his playoff debut, Fiske contributed one tackle, one assist and a half-sack. He didn’t have to do much, as the rest of the defense stepped up to handle the load.

Verse is having an outstanding rookie year, possibly even better than Fiske’s. Already named the Pro Football Focus (PFF) Defensive Rookie of the Year, Verse played in all 17 regular season games out of 16. He had 77 tackles, 41 solo tackles, 16 assists, 56 sacks, 6 sacks, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. and recovered two fumbles.

Sam Darnold slams the Vikings

In addition to the Rams’ dominant sack performance, Sam Darnold’s lackluster play will be the main story of the game. After a rough performance in a 31-9 loss to the Lions in Week 18, Darnold struggled again against LA. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a lost fumble.

While the sack count doesn’t quite capture it, Sam Darnold’s performance played a key role in the big sack total. Early PFF data shows his average throw time was 3.19 seconds, and he was sacked on 40.9 percent of his snaps. After back-to-back challenging outings, the offseason will likely bring plenty of questions about his viability as a starting quarterback.

On the offensive end, the Rams earned their first playoff victory since winning the 2021 Super Bowl, thanks to a dominant defensive effort and several effective drives led by Matthew Stafford (19-of-27, 209 yards, 2 TDs, no turnovers ).

Stafford connected with Kyren Williams for a touchdown early (19 touches, 92 yards, 1 TD) and the Rams took control after a key second-quarter turnover that negated what would have been a defensive touchdown for the Vikings.

The The Rams will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in the divisional round on Sunday afternoon. The matchup promises to be a tough battle between two defenses that dominated the wild card round.