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Los Angeles Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth injured his right knee in the Wild Card round against the Arizona Cardinals on the first offensive play. Although he returned to the game, the left tackle was not on the field in the second half in the team’s 34-11 win.
As for his status against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round, the left tackle has been ruled out for the Divisional round matchup. He has started 15 games this season for Los Angeles.
He is in his fifth year with the Rams after spending 11 years with the Cincinnati Bengals. The four-time Pro Bowler has started 71 games in the regular season and 13 playoff games in his career.
He allowed five sacks for Los Angeles and had six penalties this season. He was drafted by the Bengals in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft.
He started 164 of 168 games for Cincinnati in his 11 years there, and his 235 games started is fourth- highest among active players. Only Tom Brady (316), Larry Fitzgerald (261) and Ben Roethlisberger (247) have more.
His 13 starts in the playoffs are in the top 15 among active players. The absence of him on the offensive line will be significant as the Rams are facing a defense that is in the top 10 in sacks with 47.
Tampa Bay’s defense under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has pressured quarterbacks 219 times, the most in the league.
Bowles’ defense loves to blitz quarterbacks as they are first in the number of times blitzed with 313. The biggest strength of the Buccaneers defense is their run defense.
Tampa Bay allow just 92.5 yards rushing per game (the third fewest in the NFL) and 11 rushing touchdowns. For the Rams offense, running the ball with Cam Akers or Sony Michel might be off the table.
The 40-year-old left tackle is ranked third throughout the regular season in ESPN's pass block win rate amongst offensive tackles.
The question that remains is who will replace Whitworth in the starting lineup against the Buccaneers?
Who replaces Andrew Whitworth?
Joseph Noteboom, a fourth-year player out of Texas Christian University, will replace Whitworth in the lineup. He has started 17 games since entering the league for the Rams, including two games this season.
Noteboom will be tasked with facing the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea and the rest of the front seven for Tampa Bay. No one can fill Whitworth's shoes, but can Noteboom keep quarterback Matthew Stafford upright in this Divisional Round matchup? We shall see.
