The St. Louis Rams entered November with a winning record (4-3) for the first time since 2006, but back-to-back losses have them sitting at third in NFC West at 4-5 right now. The Rams get a chance to redeem themselves in a road game against one of the league’s worst, the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore squandered a one-point lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, giving their opponents a free play with no time remaining due to a defensive penalty. The Jags nailed a 53-yard field goal to hand the Ravens their seventh loss of the season. A meeting with the highly-efficient defense of the Rams may not do them too much good.
Can the Ravens finally win at home? Or will the Rams make their already bad season even worse? Read on as we take a look at this matchup. Get more football in Week 11 with our complete previews for Packers vs. Vikings and 49ers vs. Seahawks.
[sc:Football ]St. Louis Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens Preview
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
When: Sunday, November 22, 1:00 PM ET
Line: St. Louis Rams at Baltimore Ravens – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the St. Louis Rams (4-5)
Todd Gurley is stoppable after all. St. Louis’ rookie running back had rumbled for four-straight games of 128 or more rushing yards through Weeks 4-8, but slowed down with 89 yards in Week 9. Gurley was also bottled up by the Chicago Bears, rushing for just 45 yards and a score on 12 carries in a 37-13 loss on Sunday. But there’s still hope for the rushing game, as Gurley has scored a touchdown in each of his last four games.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Rams will need a lot more firepower if they are to win more games. They can’t just hand the ball off to Gurley and hope for the best. Quarterback Nick Foles and the receiving corps will need to step up, as they are the main culprits of the league’s worst passing offense with just 1,608 passing yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions for the season. Foles has just one touchdown in the past four games; he was 17 for 36 for 200 yards and a pick against Chicago on Sunday.
Tavon Austin has been the Rams’ most efficient receiver with 305 yards receiving and four touchdowns. But he’s been put in check with 15 and five receiving yards, respectively, over his last two games. Then again, the addition of veteran Wes Welker could open up Austin some more. Welker caught three passes for 32 yards (one for a first down) after being signed by the Rams on Monday. A specialist from the slot, Welker could get even better once he gets his legs under him while getting more comfortable with St. Louis’ offense.
Having the offense contributing more will put less pressure on the Rams’ solid defense. St. Louis ranks sixth in the league in total defense, allowing just 331.9 yards per game. Part of their success is due to their strong pass rush, ranking second in the league with 29 sacks.
Defensive ends Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn lead the way with six and five sacks, respectively. Putting up plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks has limited the Rams’ opponents to allow just eight passing touchdowns this season (third-least in the league). St. Louis could very-well limit a Baltimore passing game that’s starved for talent in the receiving corps this coming weekend.
The Rams are 1-4 ATS in their last five on the road.
Betting on the Baltimore Ravens (2-7)
The Baltimore Ravens shot themselves in the foot for their seventh loss of the season. Regulation had just ended and Jags quarterback Blake Bortles was on the ground. But as he rose to his feet, Baltimore linebacker Elvis Dumervil grabbed the quarterback’s facemask and dragged him back down to the turf. That gave Jacksonville one more play and 15 yards because NFL games can’t end with a defensive penalty. The Jags then kicked a 53-yard field goal to hand the Ravens the brutal 22-20 loss on Sunday.
The Ravens were heavily penalized in the game, as they received nine flags for 121 yards Sunday. They also committed four turnovers, with quarterback Joe Flacco responsible for three of them (two interceptions and one lost fumble). Apart from those crucial miscues, though, Flacco was pretty solid in his own right after still managing to go 34 for 45 for 316 yards and three touchdowns.
The loss of Steve Smith Sr. due to a torn Achilles may be a blessing in disguise for the Ravens. Flacco was forced to spread out his passing touchdowns to three different players. Tight ends Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle along with wide receiver Chris Givens each caught a passing touchdown in the loss to Jacksonville. But Flacco still showed that he prefers to have a go-to receiver, throwing to Kamar Aiken a game-high 14 times.
Aiken caught seven passes for a team-high 73 yards against the Jaguars. Flacco will be better served to chip away the Rams’ defense with short passes. The Rams are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 70 percent of their passes for 10.2 yards per attempt. Having the passing offense going is crucial, especially with the rushing offense failing to gain some steam. Lead running back Justin Forsett has failed to rush for 70 or more yards in four straight games.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens’ horrible passing defense (26th in the league with 271 yards allowed per game) has a favorable matchup against the league’s worst passing offense. Assuming Dumervil doesn’t commit any more dumb penalties, he’s still a reliable solid pass rusher on D, as he leads the Ravens with 4.5 sacks for the year. Dumervil should bring on the pressure that could disrupt the Rams quarterback Nick Foles’ passing.
The total has gone over in three of the Ravens’ last four at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rams get back to .500 with a solid overall performance. Create a betting account now and win big on each exciting football game.
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