NFL
By George Lope
The Los Angeles Rams return to SoFi Stadium this Saturday for a pivotal NFC West showdown against the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams, winners of 4 straight and 8 out of their last 10 games following their 19-9 victory over the New York Jets, are looking to maintain their hold on the NFC West lead. The Cardinals, eliminated from playoff contention last week following their 36-30 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers, will look to play spoiler to the Rams drive towards the playoffs.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford leads the Rams offense. Against the Jets, Stafford completed 14-19 passes for a pedestrian 110 yards and 1 touchdown. Stafford did throw his first interception in his last 5 games. As with the previous game against San Francisco, Stafford was able to make key completions down the stretch, including finding TE Tyler Higbee for the lone receiving touchdown. In their early game against Arizona, Stafford completed 19-27 passes for 216 yards. Stafford was sacked 5 times in that game as the Rams pass protection issues by their offensive line were exploited by the Cardinals pass rush. The Cardinals pass rush will look to test the Rams pass protection and bring pressure to Stafford.
In the past few weeks, Head Coach Sean McVay has made a concerted effort to establish the running game and stick with it throughout the game. Against the Jets, the Rams rushed 31 times for 132 yards compared to 19 pass attempts. RB Kyren Williams leads the Rams running game. Against the Jets, Williams rushed for 122 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown. Williams has rushed for 1243 yards with 13 touchdowns on the season. With the running game entrenched in the offensive attack, Coach McVay has been able to use more play-action passing, which has opened the medium pass routes for the Rams receivers. Look for Coach McVay to continue to go the running game against Arizona.
In week 2, the Rams were routed by Arizona 41-10 in a one-sided contest. In that contest, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray completed 17-21 passes for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns. Throughout the game, Murray was able to escape the Rams pass rush and find receivers wide open downfield. Murray also used his legs to find open space running the ball, accounting for 59 rushing yards that helped extend drives. The defense will make it a key to keep Murray in the pocket in this contest and not let him extend plays. With Murray’s ability to move around the pocket, rookie WR Marvin Harrison, Jr was able to find himself wide-open past the Rams secondary. In that game, Harrison had 4 receptions for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Cardinals were able to find a lot of success running the ball against the Rams earlier this season, rushing for 231 yards. James Conner led the way with 122 yards on 21 carries and 1 touchdown. The Cardinals will look to test the defense and establish their running game early. The Rams defense has shown improved play in recent weeks and will look to contain Conner and the Cardinals running game.
Outside of slowing down the Cardinals running game, a key to the Rams defensive success will be containing Murray. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will look to devise a scheme that will allow the Rams to bring pressure on Murray while keeping him in the pocket. Edge rushers, Jared Verse and Byron Young will need to be mindful not to crash too far inside with their pass rush. If they do, Murray will have the opportunity to escape to the outside and rush for positive yards extend the play, and look for receivers downfield. The interior pass rush will look to take away inside escape lanes from Murray while collapsing the pocket.
The Rams will look to make it 5 straight wins and 9 out of their last 11 and maintain their hold on the NFC West. Though eliminated from playoff contention, the Cardinals will look to trip up the Rams and their march toward the playoffs. In the end, look for the home team to go to a heavy rushing attack on offense and make it 5 straight wins.
Rams 24
Cardinals 20
