DENVER — The Los Angeles Rams spent the first half Sunday night suffocating the Denver Broncos, taking a 16-0 lead into the locker room at the half.

However, just before halftime, their rebuilt secondary took a painful hit.

Starting cornerback Jaylen Watson suffered a right shoulder injury late in the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High and was ruled out for the remainder of the Rams’ Sunday Night Football matchup against Denver.

Watson appeared to get his right arm tangled around a Broncos receiver while making a play near the sideline. He immediately reached for his shoulder and remained on the turf in obvious pain as Rams medical personnel rushed onto the field.

After being helped off, Watson was taken by cart to the locker room for further evaluation and X-rays. When the Rams returned from halftime, his night was officially over.

The injury put an immediate dent in a Los Angeles secondary that had been one of the driving forces behind a dominant defensive performance in the first half.

Emmanuel Forbes Jr. replaced Watson opposite All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, with Josh Wallace also being worked into certain defensive packages. Forbes entered the season as Los Angeles’ top reserve corner, while Wallace provided another experienced option in a secondary the Rams aggressively rebuilt during the offseason by trading for McDuffie and signing Watson, both who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The timing could hardly have been worse for Watson, but the scoreboard softened the blow.

Now the Rams will have to finish the job without one of the cornerstones they brought in to make nights like this miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

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