By George Lopez

The Los Angeles Rams look to bounce back from a disappointing Monday night loss to Buffalo as they host the Arizona Cardinals. After their 37-34 overtime loss to the Bills, the Rams fell to 2-3. The Cardinals are coming off a 45-21 defeat to the Detroit Lions, which dropped their record to 1-4. Both the Rams and the Cardinals desperately need a win this weekend. The Rams will look to address issues that have plagued the team this season.

Rams head coach Sean McVay, frustrated with the special teams’ performance, made an immediate move after Monday night’s game. Kicker Harrison Mevis went 0-2 on field goal attempts on Monday, including a block on a potential game-winning attempt in overtime. On Tuesday, Mevis was released. The Rams then signed kicker Blake Grupe from the New York Jets practice squad to help shore up the kicking game.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford has been on a roll recently. On Monday night, Stafford completed 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns. Stafford threw to 8 different receivers, with Puka Nacua as his primary target. Against the Bills, Nacua had 17 receptions for 138 yards and 1 touchdown. Look for the Cardinals to double-team Nacua throughout the game to contain him in the Rams’ passing attack. With Nacua likely doubled, Davante Adams, Tyler Higbee, and Colby Parkinson should play a significant role in McVay’s passing game. Coach McVay will look to keep the attack balanced against the Cardinals’ defense.

Though Stafford did pass for over 380 yards against the Bills, it came on 54 passing attempts. That many attempts took away from the Rams’ running game. The Los Angeles Rams had 23 running attempts. The Bills’ defense did a good job of containing both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum to under 4 yards per carry. The Rams offense is difficult to stop when McVay uses a balanced attack. Look for the Rams to establish their running game early, which will open up the play-action passing attack McVay likes to use.

Defensively, the Rams struggled against the Bills’ offensive attack. Though they held Josh Allen to 219 passing yards, the Rams failed to contain Allen when he tucked the ball and ran. Allen rushed for 121 yards against the Rams. The edge rushers failed to maintain outside containment throughout the game. The Rams defensive coordinator also failed to place a defensive spy on Allen. This allowed him to escape the pass rush up the middle for big gains. Though he isn’t as big a threat as Allen, Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett will tuck the ball and run if the opportunity presents itself. Look for the Rams’ edge rushers to maintain outside containment to prevent Brissett from escaping to the outside.

The Cardinals running game hasn’t produced as much as the team would have liked. This season, the Cardinals have rushed for 458 yards, with Jeremiyah Love leading the team with 245 yards. Love is listed as questionable for the game with an ankle injury. With or without Love in the lineup, the Cardinals will look to attack a Rams defense that allowed the Bills over 200 rushing yards. The Cardinals don’t want to become one-dimensional against the Rams, where they can pin their ears back and bring heavy pressure to Brissett.

The Rams are looking to play a full game. Outside of their Week 2 win over the Giants, the Rams haven’t played a full game. Look for the Rams to come out swinging from the opening kickoff to set the tone early. Fans wait with nervous anticipation for new kicker Grupe’s performance. Look for the Rams to even their record with a dominant win over the Cardinals.

Rams                     34

Cardinals               13