NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Rams hit the road this week as they travel to Washington to take on division rival Seattle Seahawks. The Rams will look to make it 3 wins in a row following their inspired play in a 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Seattle will look to rebound following their 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford had his best game of the season against the Vikings. Coming into the game, Stafford had thrown 3 touchdowns for the season. Against the Vikings, Stafford threw 4 touchdowns while completing 25-34 passes for 279 yards. Stafford completed passes to 9 different receivers not allowing the Vikings to focus on one or two receivers. Look for Stafford to continue to spread the ball around against the Seahawks’ secondary.
Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both returned to action for the Rams against the Vikings. Nacua led the team with 7 receptions for 106 yards. Kupp had 5 receptions for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. With Kupp and Nacua on the field, the Rams offense played with an energy not seen this season. The Rams did have a scare this week as Nacua went down with a knee injury during practice on Thursday. It was the same knee that sidelined Nacua for 6 six weeks. The Rams have announced that initial testing did not show any structural damage to the knee and Head Coach Sean McVay has stated he would not be surprised that Nacua plays on Sunday. With a focus on Kupp and Nacua, the Rams receiving group of Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, and Tyler Johnson along with TE’s Colby Parkinson and Hunter Long will have opportunities in the Rams passing attack.
Under Coach McVay, the Rams offense has been seen more of a pass first offense. The Rams’ offense is more explosive when their running game is firing on all cylinders. The Rams relied more on their running game against the Vikings, with 32 rush attempts for 107 yards. RB Kyren Williams led the way with 97 yards on 23 carries. Rookie RB Blake Corum spelled Williams in the backfield with 4 carries but was limited to 9 yards. Look for the Rams to their running game early against a Seahawks defense that has struggled to stop the run with Williams getting the bulk of the carries.
Quarterback Geno Smith leads the Seahawks offense. Smith has passed for 2197 yards with 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. In the loss to Buffalo, Smith was efficient completing 21-29 passes for 212. He was not able to throw a touchdown and did have 1 interception. Seattle’s offense was ineffective all game as they were held to 233 total yards, with 32 yards rushing.
The Seahawks are hopeful to have DK Metcalf back for the game this week. Metcalf, a key target for Smith was out due to a sprained MCL. Metcalf is the 2nd leading receiver for Seattle with 35 receptions for 568 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the leading receiver with 43 receptions. Tyler Lockett is Smith’s 3rd option with 31 receptions. Smith has spread the ball around, completing passes to 10 different receivers this season. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will look to devise a pass coverage to limit the effectiveness of Lockett, Smith-Njigba, and Metcalf if he plays. The secondary cannot only focus on the top receivers for Seattle. If they do that, Smith will burn them completing passes to other Seahawks receivers.
Seattle has struggled with establishing a consistent rushing attack, averaging 89 yards per game. The Seahawks will look to establish their running game early. If they are not able to establish the running game, the Rams will pin their ears back on look to bring pressure on Smith. The edge rushers, led by Byron Young and Jared Verse will look to maintain outside containment and not let Smith escape outside the pocket. Keeping outside containment has been an issue for the Rams this season, though they did do a much better job against the Vikings.
The Rams defense has shown signs of improvement each week. Against the Raiders, the defense played a bend but don’t break defensive game, limiting the Raiders to 5 field goals. Against a vaunted Vikings offense, the defense held the Vikings to 6 points in the final 3 quarters after allowing 2 touchdowns on the Vikings’ first 2 drives.
The Rams played their last game with a swagger not seen all season. There was an extra bounce to their step on both offense and defense. As the team continues to get injured players back, their performance on the field has improved. Look for the Rams to make it 3 wins in a row and improve their record to 4-4 and inch closer to first place in the NFC West.
