{"id":890975,"date":"2026-02-08T03:19:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/like-father-like-son-rams-s-had-to-pull-out-my-inner-carnell-lake-on-key-play\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T03:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:19:55","slug":"like-father-like-son-rams-s-had-to-pull-out-my-inner-carnell-lake-on-key-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/like-father-like-son-rams-s-had-to-pull-out-my-inner-carnell-lake-on-key-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Like Father Like Son: Rams S Had To \u2018Pull Out My Inner Carnell Lake\u2019 On Key Play"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Rams don\u2019t have any former Steelers on their current defense, but they have Quentin Lake, son of Carnell Lake. And he had to play like Carnell Lake, as he said after the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 win over the weekend in one key moment over the Bears. With Chicago in 3rd and goal from the 2, he took to the sky to stuff RB D\u2019Andre Swift. The Bears turned the ball over on downs on the next play, trailing by 7.<\/p>\n

While the Bears went on to tie the game and send it into overtime, helping keep seven points off the board with under 5 minutes remaining was a big deal. Chicago\u2019s game-tying drive could have been a game-winning one, instead. And the Bears would have only needed a field goal to win instead of a touchdown to tie. But because Quentin channeled Carnell Lake on that play, the Rams are playing in the conference finals.<\/p>\n

The Rams had just scored a touchdown to go up 17-10 with under nine minutes to play. The Bears made it to LA\u2019s 27 before running into trouble, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on 3rd and 10 on top of a 17-yard completion set them up with 1st and goal. They tried to run Swift three times\u2014and Lake helped stop him twice. Caleb Williams could not connect with Luther Burden on 4rd and goal, the pass broken up.<\/p>\n

Quentin Lake said after the game that he had to \u201cpull out my inner Carnell Lake<\/a>\u201d to make that tackle. While Lake played safety\u2014and briefly, cornerback\u2014for the Steelers, he was a linebacker in college. The Steelers drafted him in the second round in 1989, and he played in Pittsburgh for 10 years. After one season in Jacksonville and another in Baltimore, he retired.<\/p>\n

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Quentin Lake said he had to \u201cpull out my inner Carnell Lake\u201d on this hit.<\/p>\n

Carnell was a 5-time Pro Bowl safety who taught his son how to tackle. https:\/\/t.co\/dveFEvw0d7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nate Atkins (@NateAtkins_) January 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In 2011, Carnell Lake returned to the Steelers and coached their defensive backs<\/a> for several years. After the 2017 season, he departed to help Quentin focus on his own football journey<\/a>. He eventually followed in his father\u2019s footsteps at UCLA, and, like dad, is now a hard-hitting safety. Only he\u2019s doing it in Los Angeles for the Rams, far from Pittsburgh, his place of birth.<\/p>\n

Unlike Carnell, Quentin Lake was a late-round pick in 2022. The sixth-round selection established himself as a full-time starter in 2024 and has already earned a lucrative extension<\/a>. Limited to 10 games in 2025, Lake recorded 61 tackles with 1 sack and 1 interception\u2014the first of his career. He also had 10 passes defensed and his first career forced fumble. In the overtime win against the Bears in the Divisional Round, he recorded 7 tackles, including three run stops.<\/p>\n

As mentioned, Quentin Lake didn\u2019t actually win the Rams the game with that particular tackle against Swift. It did help prevent the Bears from scoring on that drive, but Caleb Williams did send it to overtime. And the Rams\u2019 defense did seal the game with an interception. But had the Bears scored on that drive, they could have been kicking a game-winning field goal in regulation instead. So thank you, Carnell Lake, for teaching your son how to tackle. At least, that\u2019s what the Rams should be saying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Matthew Marczi
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rams don\u2019t have any former Steelers on their current defense, but they have Quentin Lake, son of Carnell Lake. And he had to play like Carnell Lake, as he said after the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 win over the weekend in one key moment over the Bears. With Chicago in 3rd and goal from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3045,128657],"tags":[11279,13179],"class_list":{"0":"post-890975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-father","8":"category-pull","9":"tag-father","10":"tag-pull"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}