Fansided

Eric Berry’s injury could lead to offseason surgery, but what about this weekend?

By Dr. David Chao

FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 14: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots makes a catch while under pressure from Josh Shaw #30 of the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter of a game at Gillette Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - OCTOBER 14: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots makes a catch while under pressure from Josh Shaw #30 of the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter of a game at Gillette Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 4: Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball and is tackled by Nickell Robey-Coleman #23 of the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 4, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints defeated the Rams 45-35. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 4: Alvin Kamara #41 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball and is tackled by Nickell Robey-Coleman #23 of the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 4, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints defeated the Rams 45-35. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

NFC Championship – Rams at Saints

The Los Angeles Rams are the healthiest team remaining. The only player of great significance who will miss this game is wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who was knocked out in Week 9 with an ACL injury. No one is listed on the injury report and everyone was at full practice. While the Kupp injury is significant, the Rams also get back cornerback Aqib Talib, who missed the 45-35 loss to New Orleans in Week 8 because of an ankle injury.

Without Talib to help fellow cornerback Marcus Peters, the Saints went after Peters repeatedly. Even New Orleans coach Sean Payton was open about how the Saints went after him in that game.

Rams running back Todd Gurley came out of last week’s 16 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown with no setbacks. Although many worried about Gurley’s late-season knee inflammation, particularly after he missed the final two games of the season, my thought all along was that he would be fine come playoffs. It always seemed to me the Rams were purposefully giving him a month’s rest so he could be healthy for the playoffs. C.J. Anderson was the top ball carrier last week, but that was probably just to give Gurley a chance to re-acclimate to football shape. Expect Gurley to return to early season form and be the primary weapon.

The matchup to watch here is how the Rams commitment to the run game works against the Saints front seven without defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who tore his Achilles last week and is out of the rest of the season.

The Saints also have two players not practicing. The one to watch is Kirk Kirkwood (calf), who may end up missing the contest or being quite limited. A calf issue is hard for a wide receiver to overcome in one week. Tight end Ben Watson was out due to illness. Expect that to clear well before Sunday. The offensive line remains the other concern. Three players here were limited in practice: Andrus Peat (hand), Ryan Ramczyk (shoulder) and Max Unger (knee). The other lineman to watch is left tackle Terron Armstead, who just returned from a pectoral muscle tear and may be vulnerable to re-injury.

It is always a pleasure to see teams square off at full strength and these four clubs are nearly all healthy. Perhaps that has something to do with that these four are indeed the best teams of the season.

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