NFL Week 11: Trends which will decide each game
Monday, Nov. 23
Los Angeles Rams (6-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3), 8:15 pm
Rams: You never know what you’re going to get these days when it comes to Sean McVay’s club. Last Sunday, the Rams’ defense sacked Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson six times, harassed him into three turnovers and limited the nine-year veteran to zero touchdown passes for the first time all season. Now this unit takes on one of the better wideout corps in the league in the buccaneers, who possess the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. But it’s worth noting that Aaron Donald (9) and company have not only sacked up 31 sacks in nine games, the Rams have allowed just 16 offensive touchdowns – including an NFL-low nine scores through the air.
Buccaneers: One week after being limited to a field goal in a humiliating 35-point home loss to the Saints, Bruce Arians’ team exploded for a season-high 46 points in doubling up the rival Panthers at Carolina. The standout was running back Ronald Jones, who currently ranks third in the NFL in rushing and has already established a career-best 730 yards on the ground this season. It will be intriguing to see if Tampa’s ground attack (ranked 23rd in the NFL) have some success against a staunch Rams’ defensive unit that is second in the league in terms of fewest yards allowed per game. And only four teams in the NFL have allowed fewer yards per contest on the ground.