The Green Bay Packers look to continue their winning ways as they take on the Los Angles Rams at home on Monday night. At the start of the season, most people would have thought that this matchup would have major implications for the NFC playoff picture. Instead, the nation will be witnessing two teams whose seasons have gone wayward in almost all of the worst possible ways.
The Rams arrive in Lambeau fresh off their fourth win of the season, where mid-week waiver-wire pickup Baker Mayfield led an improbable last-second 98-yard game-winning drive with no timeouts. Like the Packers, the Rams have been decimated by injuries, with Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Donald likely to miss this game.
Green Bay’s season hangs by a thread, with the Green and Gold needing to win out and get some help from other teams to back their way into the playoffs. While the Packers have had a horrific five-game losing streak set them back and season-ending injuries to key members of both sides of the ball, recent performances have given fans hope. The Packers will need to beat the Rams on Monday night to keep their season alive.
Here are three things to know about the Rams.
Corners Are Still Good
Despite the Rams underwhelming everyone in almost every facet of what they have done this season, their cornerbacks are still performing at a high level. And although Stefon Diggs having his way with him on opening night, Jalen Ramsey is still one of the best in the NFL. Even though teams have targeted him a lot more in coverage this season, they currently have Ramsey’s worst coverage grade since 2019 via PFF, and he struggled with the heavily injured pass rush.
Troy Hill is across from him, and he’s having a good season, allowing a 96.2 passer rating. Although they have both struggled because they’ve been forced to cover for longer than usual, they have improved in other ways. This season, Ramsey and Hill have turned into great run-stoppers, willing to stop running backs when they bounce outside. While Aaron Jones has been very good on outside runs, this might be a game where the Packers’ offense relies more on A.J. Dillon.
Inexperienced Wide Receivers
The Rams had one of the best receiving duos with Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. last season. The same can’t be said about this year’s squad because Beckham is still a free agent, Kupp has missed significant time with an ankle sprain, and Allen Robinson, who the Rams added in free agency, is also done for the season.
As a result, third-year wideout Van Jefferson is the veteran of the receiving corps. While Jefferson is a capable receiver, he started the season as the third receiver on the depth chart and has been forced into a much larger role. Ben Skowronek will line up beside him. Skowronek came up with a key reception in the come-from-behind win, but he still isn’t someone the Rams figured they would have to rely on.
If the Packers can shut the running game down, they can reap the benefits of having to go up against an injured receiver core.
Baker Magic
Baker Mayfield might be one of the most confusing quarterbacks in the NFL. Whenever his back is against the wall, he plays the best he can. We saw an example of that last week. After the Carolina Panthers cut him, Mayfield managed to orchestrate one of the best comebacks this season in an offense he had studied for about 48 hours. Mayfield didn’t even know the way back to the locker room after winning the game for the Rams.
You get a dangerous combination when you couple this occasional magic quality Mayfield has, coupled with Sean McVay’s offensive mind. McVay is likely determined to see that the Detroit Lions aren’t gifted a top-five pick due to a Super Bowl hangover. Though we will likely see the magic die down this week, the Packers defense needs to avoid underestimating Mayfield.
