Arik Armstead sensed something was afoot.
Early in the second quarter Sunday, the Rams were facing a second-and-long situation at their 37-yard line. Armstead was playing left defensive end and found himself being blocked by a tight end, Tyler Higbee.
Higbee’s a decent blocker, someone who might hold up well against an outside linebacker. Armstead, however, is a 6-7, 290-pound defensive end with powerful, long arms and a reputation for devouring tight ends. Higbee vs. Armstead was a mistake. Armstead knew that, and moreover, he knew the Rams knew that, too.
Alarm bells started going off in his head.
“They’re not going to run straight at me with the tight end,” Armstead said on a phone call this week. “That’s not a good matchup for them. There’s just certain stuff that I know teams aren’t going to try to do because they’re at a disadvantage.”
Higbee began to block Armstead at…
