NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Rams’ quest for a Super Bowl championship begins this Saturday as they travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers in an NFC Wild Card matchup. The Rams enter the playoffs as the #5 seed in the NFC, finishing the regular season with a 12-5 record after their 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in week 18. The Panthers won the NFC South to get the #4 seed. Though the Panthers lost their final game 16-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they still won the division thanks to the Atlanta Falcons defeating the New Orleans Saints, which eliminated the Buccaneers. The Rams fell to the Panthers 31-28 a few weeks ago and will look to correct the mistakes that plagued the team in that earlier matchup.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford led the Rams offense with an MVP-caliber season. In the year, Stafford passed for 4707 yards with 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Stafford has a complete grasp of the offensive schemes head coach Sean McVay likes to use. In the regular season meeting against the Panthers, Stafford had a subpar game, completing only 18 passes, with 2 interceptions and a costly fumble late in the game as the Rams were driving for a possible game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. The Rams’ passing attack was not in its typical rhythm, as Stafford completed passes to only 5 receivers. The Panthers’ defense was able to keep the Rams’ passing game out of sync for most of the game. The Rams coaching staff has spent this week going over the game film of that earlier matchup to look for ways to create matchups in the passing game to attack the Panthers’ secondary.
Rams WR Davante Adams sat out the last two regular-season games as he dealt with a hamstring injury. Adams’ absence on the field was felt in the Rams’ passing game, particularly in the red zone. On the season, Adams had 60 receptions for 789 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns. Adams is expected to play against the Panthers. With Adams’ expected return, WR Puka Nacua should expect to find more openings in the Panthers’ secondary. Nacua, who is expected to be in the offensive player of the year conversation, had a career high 129 receptions for 1715 yards and 10 touchdowns. Adams and Nacua give Coach McVay multiple options on how to use them, from stretching the field on a deep pass to running the inside dig routes McVay likes to use. The Rams received a huge boost to their passing game when TE Tyler Higbee returned from injury last week. Higbee’s return gives Stafford another weapon in the passing game. Look for the Rams to use Higbee, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen in their 3 TE formations.
While the Rams’ offense wasn’t in sync for most of the game against Carolina in the regular season, the running game was firing on all cylinders. The Rams rushed for 152 yards on 21 carries with 2 touchdowns. RB Blake Corum led the way with 81 yards on 7 carries. Kyren Williams contributed 72 yards on 13 carries. Look for the Rams to go to their running game early against Carolina. The Rams want to establish their running game, which will open up play-action passing and allow Stafford to roll out of the pocket to look for receivers downfield. A question that Rams have is about starting guard Kevin Dotson’s availability. Dotson has been out since injuring his ankle against Seattle. Though Dotson has missed the last two games due to the injury, the Rams have not placed him on IR. The Rams have taken a wait-and-see approach with Dotson. If Dotson’s ankle is showing improvement, Dotson should be expected to play.
The Rams’ defense, which started the season as one of the top defenses in the NFL, has struggled to end the season, particularly the run defense. In the game against the Panthers in the regular season, the Rams’ defense allowed 164 rushing yards on 40 carries. At times during the game, the Panthers’ offensive line was able to dominate the Rams’ defensive line, blowing them off the line of scrimmage. Not wanting to put the entire emphasis on their passing game, look for the Panthers to go to their running attack early in the game. The Rams did get good news this week as safety Quinten Lake has been activated off of IR and is expected to play. Lake has been out since sustaining an elbow injury in the Rams’ first game against Seattle. The Rams’ run defense began to allow more rushing yards after Lake’s injury. Lake’s presence on the field gives defensive coordinator Chris Shula the field general that has been missing in the team’s run defense. Look for Lake to play close to the line of scrimmage to help slow down the Panthers’ running game.
Quarterback Bryce Young leads the Panthers’ offense. On the season, Young has passed for 3011 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In the regular season game against the Rams, Young passed for 206 yards with 3 touchdowns. Two of the touchdown passes came against Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes on 4th down as the Panthers looked to attack him throughout the game. Look for the Panthers to attack Forbes, especially when the Rams play man-to-man pass coverage. WR Jalen Coker should be expected to be a primary target in the Panthers’ passing attack. Coker accounted for 74 yards on 4 receptions and 1 touchdown in the earlier meeting against the Rams. Look for Coach Shula to bracket Coker with a safety playing over the top coverage to take away the deep routes from Coker.
The Los Angeles Rams enter the Wild Card matchup against Carolina to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and come away with a championship. The Rams have the mindset of one game at a time and are not overlooking the Panthers. Getting key players such as Quinten Lake and Tyler Higbee back is a big boost for the Rams. Look for the Rams to use a balanced offensive attack and exact revenge for their loss to the Panthers in the regular season and advance to the NFC Divisional round with a dominant performance.
