The struggle is so real right now for the St. Louis Rams. They’ve lost their past five games with an aggregate score of 132-54 and are on a five-game slide. The Rams will try once more to get it together when they play host to the Detroit Lions this weekend at the Edward Jones Dome. Can they finally notch the win?
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this NFC clash. And while you’re at it, check out our other Week 14 previews: Bills at Eagles and Falcons at Panthers.
What a heart-breaker for the Detroit Lions, who fell to the Green Bay Packers, 27-23, on Thursday night. They couldn’t hang on to their 20-0 advantage as the reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers refused to let his team lose by igniting one of the most inspiring and thrilling comebacks of the year.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Rodgers, who finished 24-of-36 for 220 yard and two touchdowns, found his form in the second half and eventually rallied his troops back. They scored 14 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth quarter to take home their eighth win of the season.
But the biggest play of the game happened in the dying seconds of the final period, during which Rodgers found his tight end in Richard Rodgers for the 61-yard Hail Mary that ultimately allowed the Packers to stun the Lions at their own field.
This loss was undoubtedly a tough one to swallow. Nevertheless, the Lions need to keep moving forward and try to bounce back when they pay the St. Louis Rams a visit at Edward Jones Dome this weekend. The Lions are 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS on the road this year.
In order to do so, QB Matthew Stafford, who threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns versus Green Bay, should continue his stellar play since new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter took over. Stafford has thrown for nine touchdowns with just one interception in his last four games, and has a pair of terrific receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate to provide trouble for the Rams.
Johnson was held to a season-low of 44 yards on three receptions against the Packers but still holds a team-best of 965 receiving yards with seven touchdowns through 12 games. Tate, meanwhile, is right behind him with 615 receiving yards and had 63 yards on eight catches in the same matchup.
Both Johnson and Tate, though, will have their work cut out for them as they try to breakthrough a sturdy St. Louis defense that’s only allowing 239.9 passing yards per outing, which is among the fewest in the league.
Another game, another loss for the St. Louis Rams. They couldn’t get anything going on both sides of the field as the Arizona Cardinals racked up 524 yards of total offense for the resounding 27-3 win. That defeat was their fifth-straight and their eighth loss of the season.
A testament to the Rams’ current woes is quarterback Nick Foles, who has only thrown for 742 yards in his previous four games and hasn’t thrown a touchdown since their win over the San Francisco Giants on November 1. He and the rest of the Rams will have another opportunity to stop the bleeding in their Week 14 showdown with the visiting Detroit Lions.
The Rams, who are 3-3 SU and ATS at Edward Jones Dome this season, need to find their rhythm on offense if they wish to come away with the victory here. Head Coach Jeff Fisher knew this and immediately took action by declaring Case Keenum as the starting signal-caller this coming Sunday.
Keenum has missed the past two games due to a concussion that he suffered in Week 11 against Baltimore. In that game, Keenum showed some signs of promise, passing for 136 yards with a touchdown in his first career start behind center. It’ll be interesting to see if he can pick up from where he left off and give the Rams something to smile about.
Apart from him, the pair of Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin will need to make their presence felt as well. The two have been pretty silent over the last three games, during which they’ve only managed 219 rushing yards combined. However, their slump could finally come to an end opposite a Lions defense that’s surrendering 26.2 points per contest, the fourth-highest in the league this year.
Writer’s Prediction
Detroit wins but fails to cover the spread. Create a betting account now and cash in on all the NFL regular season action.
