The Rams have a chance to make a playoff move vs. Ravens

The defending conference champions are chasing two teams in the NFC West. But the Los Angeles Rams could finally be ready to make some noise.

First things first. The Los Angeles Rams are very aware of what they will be facing in the form of the league’s highest scoring team, the NFL’s top-ranked running attack and arguably the front runner for MVP honors in the form of versatile Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“Everybody is saying and rightfully so, he’s certainly the MVP so far this year,” explained the veteran coach to ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry. “As far as comparisons to Michael Vick? “Lamar, yeah this era’s Michael Vick, maybe plus. Michael Vick Plus.”

“If I didn’t already, they’d give me white hair playing against teams like this, but I’m already there,” added Phillips (via Daniel Oyefusi of the Baltimore Sun).

The defending NFC West champions have had quite the erratic year. Sean McVay’s team won its first three games, holding onto beat the Panthers and Browns while knocking Drew Brees out of action in Week 2 in a 27-9 victory over the Saints. But then the wheels came off in consecutive losses to the Buccaneers, Seahawks and 49ers – two of those at home.

The Rams rebounded by handling the Falcons in Atlanta and the winless Bengals in London. But the offense failed to score a touchdown in a 17-12 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. And McVay finally turned to the ground game and Todd Gurley in a lackluster 17-7 win over the Bears last Sunday night.

In 2018, the Rams scored 527 points – the second-highest total in the league and 11th-most in one season in league annals. Led by Gurley, quarterback Jared Goff, a solid group of receivers and a stellar offensive front, the offensive unit put 55 touchdowns on the board. The team only turned over the ball 19 times in 16 regular-season contests.

In 10 games this season, Los Angeles has totaled only 243 points and 24 offensive TDs. McVay’s squad has coughed up the ball 18 times – 15 times by Goff in the form of 10 interceptions and five lost fumbles. And a ground attack that finished with the third-most yards in the league a year ago ranks 20th in the NFL after 11 weeks in ’19.

So how can these Rams slow down these Ravens? Does Los Angeles have enough to control the temp of the game and keep Jackson and company off the field? In each of McVay’s and Phillips’ first two seasons, the club struggled to stop the run.

Entering this week, Los Angeles was allowing the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game in the league (89.1). Does Baltimore’s offensive have enough to handle defensive tackle Aaron Donald and pass-rushers like Clay Matthews and Dante Fowler Jr.? That trio has combined for 21.5 of the Rams’ 29 sacks but have also made their share of big plays in the opposition’s backfields.

At 6-4, McVay’s team hardly resembles the club that reached Super Bowl LIII a year ago. And the fact that the Rams have already dropped two games within the NFC West one season after a clean sweep of the division speaks volumes as well. But perhaps the bigger issue is the fact that this club and maybe one other in the conference could win 10 or 11 games and be on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason.

With six weeks to play, there are already five teams in the NFC – the division-rival 49ers (9-1) and Seahawks (8-2), as well as the Packers (8-2), Saints (8-2) and Vikings (8-3) with at least eight victories. Hopping both San Francisco and Seattle will be a tall task unless both start to struggle. And keep in mind that the Rams’ earlier loss to the Niners came in Los Angeles.

Still, this is not a team devoid of talent and if the offense can get healthy, the club has shown that it is playoff savvy. And while the pieces have changed from a year ago, players like Matthews and safety Eric Weddle have their share of postseason experience. And while facing the AFC North leaders at the moment appears to be a daunting task, the Ravens are certainly far from unbeatable like every other team in the league.

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The Rams’ final five games include a pair with the Arizona Cardinals (Weeks 13 and 17), a rematch with the Seattle Seahawks in Los Angeles in Week 14 and back-to-back road games with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. Four divisional matchups and all five contests within the conference. That gives McVay’s team more than enough opportunities to dig itself out of third place in the NFC West.

But it likely needs to start by clipping the Ravens’ wings on Monday night at the Coliseum. And admittedly, a lot of things will have to go right for the Rams to cool off the league’s hottest club.