Kobie Turner took 140 seconds to detail a strip-sack and recovery that transpired in less than five against the Patriots on Sunday. That's a reflection of how slow the game now moves for the Rams' second-year star defensive end.

Los Angeles set up an overload front, with Turner serving as the nose tackle lined up on the same side as Braden Fiske in a three-technique. They rushed five against standard protection with no chips, giving the Rams a three-on-three on the right side.

During the week, Turner said they had noticed that the Patriots left significant space between the "A" and "B" gap, which happened on that play. Fiske and Turner ran a stunt where the ladder was the penetrator – they created the turnover and turned it into six points one play later.

"I got a really good jump off the ball," Turner said. "I'm able to club the center's hand and get to my rip to try to put myself between me and the guard… Fiske gives a really good sell to the guard. He's able to make the guard kick out a little bit. And at that point in time, the center is put in a bind right? It's either he, you know, stays on me and Fiske gets a strip-sack like he did, or he comes off on Fiske and now I'm already in the crease. And so he made the decision to stay on me a little too long."

Turner doesn't act like a second-year player out of Wake Forest – he's a team captain with a high football IQ. In the locker room, he often talks through techniques with linemen on both sides of the ball, and even veteran players look to him for guidance. He's a leader of the Rams' defense who has earned increased playing time from his stellar rookie season, and he's adjusted his mindset accordingly.

This season, Turner has played the third-most snaps of any interior defensive lineman in football while accumulating sixth-most pressures (35) and most stops (30) at the position, according to Pro Football Focus. He's been one of the most complete interior linemen, outperforming some of the league's elites while leading a defensive line with the best pressure rate in football (41.7 percent, per Next Gen Stats).

"The whole emphasis was you don't need to be (former Rams defensive tackle) Aaron Donald, but just need to be the best version of Kobie Turner," said defensive coordinator Chris Shula. "He's done just that."

Turner has always played with an endless motor in all facets of the game, and he takes a lot of pride in that.

"Going back to when I walked on at Richmond, you know, I wasn't sure on all of the techniques or everything, but one thing that I didn't know is that I'm going to make sure that nobody's playing harder than I am," Turner said. "And so that's something that's kind of followed me."

His chase-down tackle of Dolphins running back De'Von Achane, one of the fastest players in the league, illustrated that perfectly. Despite it being 3rd-and-20, Turner sprinted down the field to make sure the speedster didn't get anywhere close to the first-down marker.

But his aggressive play style combined with an increased volume this season means he's had to maintain his body more between games. Turner gets multiple massages, utilizes the hot tub, the cold tub and has a steam room and pool in his house, which he uses in contrast. He receives treatment every day, which isn't new, but his routine has evolved with his workload.

His efforts haven't been in vain. Turner hasn't appeared on the injury report once this season and has played 80.5 percent of the team's defensive snaps, more than anyone else on the defensive line.

This season, he's not just playing specific packages that accentuated his skill set, as was the case last year. He's tasked with various responsibilities while playing most downs on top of his leadership role. For that, he had to shift his mindset as well as his body.

Turner said that everything said by Donald was "treated like gold, because he had earned that right." Even though he's a young player, Turner has earned respect as well. So, in talking with Donald early in the season, he learned to just "be real" with his teammates and they will respect his message.

"And the fact... that those guys chose me to be able to lead this group will always be one of the highest honors that I can ever get," Turner said. "And so that has helped to facilitate a mentality shift.

"A lot of these guys are older than me or my peers... Guys respect what I have to say, and at the same time, it's like they just came in with me."

Turner knows his stuff, as evidenced by his long-winded explanation of last week's strip-sack, and he's dedicated to his craft. His teammates see that devotion to technique and the resulting production, which makes him an authority on defense.

Veteran nose tackle Neville Gallimore said Turner's knowledge of the game and leadership skills are uncommon for a second-year player. Turner "is able to see things before they happen," Gallimore said, and that makes everyone's job easier. Gallimore signed with the Rams right before the start of the regular season. He needed to learn the defense quickly and, despite being a fifth-year veteran, he went to Turner for assistance with that.

"It's just the way he works, the way he goes about it every day," Shula said. "Just at our walkthrough right now, he's out there leading the group. He's locked in every single time… He's a really special person and special player the way he goes about his business."

In the offseason, Turner worked with Krav Maga instructor Albert “Poodie” Carson, on Donald's recommendation. He's the same trainer that went viral for having Donald work with fake knives in 2018. In addition to with his personal training, Turner flew Carson out and put him up in Los Angeles to train the entirety of the Rams offensive and defensive lines for a week.

In Carson's time training Turner, he started to notice how other players naturally followed his lead.

"Everybody knew who the alpha dog was (in Donald)," Carson said before the season. "What I'm seeing right now is Kobie Turner is becoming that alpha dog."

That was before Turner was even named captain, evidence of how much he cares about his teammates' success. The mutual respect that's been created in that room has also berthed some friendly competition in the form of sack contests. Players have joked about boxing each other out so they can get to the quarterback first.

They are also thinking about implementing a season-long punishment. By the end of the year, whoever isn't the sack leader between Turner, Fiske, Jared Verse, Michael Hoecht and Byron Young would have to shave their beard.

"Who knows if we'll go through with that," Turner said. "We'll see."

At the end of the day, it's just another way for them to push each other, and Turner has helped create that culture in a room full of first and second-year players. Now, Turner is showing the world that he is truly an "alpha dog" with his eclectic success on the field and leadership of the best young pass rush unit in football.