The Rams will work against the rejuvenated Ravens’ defense while trying to stop Baltimore’s prolific offense. That’s a losing combo. Super Bowl hangover continues for LAR. Ravens win at the Coliseum.
WHAT: Week 12, Game 11 at Los Angeles Rams
WHEN: 8:15 p.m. (EST); Monday, November 25
WHERE: United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (78,467)
RECORDS: Ravens, 8-2, Rams, 6-4
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Ravens lead, 4-2, having beaten the Rams in each of their last three meetings after losing two straight. The teams have never met in Los Angeles. In St. Louis, the Ravens lost two of three meetings, winning the most recent game, 37-7, in 2011.
TV: ESPN with Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, booth; Lisa Salters, sidelines
REFEREE: Craig Wrolstad
About the Rams
—The Rams franchise, founded in Cleveland in 1936 and now in its 84th season of operation. The Rams have made a total of 29 postseason appearances, the fourth-most in league history behind Dallas (33), the New York Giants and Green Bay (32 each), and Pittsburgh (31). The team has 20 division titles and has won two pre-merger NFL titles (1945 as the Cleveland Rams, 1951 in Los Angeles). They have gone 4-6 in NFC Championship Games, resulting in a win in Super Bowl 34 over Tennessee and losses in Super Bowl 14 to Pittsburgh and Super Bowls 36 and 53 to New England.
—Construction on the venerable Coliseum began in 1921, and it opened in 1923 as a way to remember World War I veterans. The stadium once had a capacity of over 105,000 seats, and it will be the only facility to host events in three different Summer Olympic Games (1932, 1984, 2028). It has been the home of 12 professional sports franchises and two collegiate teams.
—After the Rams moved there from Cleveland in 1946, they played in the Coliseum until 1979, when they moved to Anaheim, sharing that stadium with Major League Baseball’s Angels franchise. They left for St. Louis in 1995, returned to Los Angeles in 2016, and will move again to the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (host of Super Bowl 56 following the 2021 season) sharing that facility with the Chargers when it is completed.
—NFL teams representing Baltimore have not played in the Coliseum since 1975 and haven’t won there since 1969. When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL in 1950 and, again, from 1953-83, they were matched up with the Rams twice per season as part of the Western Conference (from 1953-69, immediately preceding the merger). The Baltimore Colts were 20-14-2 against the Rams, including a 9-9 mark in the Coliseum. The Ravens have never played within the Los Angeles city limits, coming closest last year when they took on the Chargers in nearby Carson, California.
—The Ravens’ history with the Rams has been a short one. These teams have met only six times in the regular-season play, the second-fewest matchups Baltimore has had with any opponent. The first meeting, which took place in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium in 1996, featured a late-overtime scoring pass from Vinny Testaverde to Michael Jackson in a Ravens win. Matt Stover missed an extra point in that game, his only one as a Raven. In 1999 in St. Louis on the season’s opening Sunday, Brian Billick saw his Ravens coaching debut spoiled by three touchdown passes from then-unknown quarterback named Kurt Warner. In 2003 in St. Louis, tackle Jonathan Ogden scored the second of his two career touchdowns. Rookie wideout Torrey Smith exploded for three scores against the Rams in 2011. And despite hurting his knee early in the drive, Joe Flacco drove Baltimore to a game-winning field goal in a 2015 home win over St. Louis.
—Los Angeles has been a very streaky team this season. After a 3-0 start, the Rams lost three in a row before winning three of its last four games heading into Monday night’s showdown with Baltimore. Only two of the team’s six wins (over Carolina and Cleveland) have come by single-digit margins, while two of the four losses (to Pittsburgh and Seattle), were also by close spreads. The Rams’ first ten games featured a pattern similar to the Ravens’ schedule. But this game against the Ravens marks the Rams’ second straight home game. Later, they will have two straight road contests at Dallas and San Francisco.
—Like most teams, the Rams have passed the ball more than they have run it. They’ve passed 391 times (including sacks allowed), and run 256 times. The team has no appreciable edge or deficit in scoring in any of the four regulation quarters.
—The Rams have not done a very good job taking care of the football. LAR sports the league’s ninth-worst turnover ratio at minus-3. By comparison, the Ravens are at plus-6. The Rams have intercepted seven passes and recovered eight fumbles, but they have thrown 11 interceptions on offense. Those figures have contributed to the league’s seventh-worst possession-time average at 28:32.
—On the penalty front, the Rams have been flagged for 77 accepted infractions. They are tied with Atlanta for the league’s eighth-mos, which is seven more than Baltimore’s. The Rams have been called for 16 false starts, and 13 holds, relatively low totals this time of year, but have been flagged eight times for defensive holding. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth leads the team with nine penalties (including six holds), while right tackle Rob Havenstein has been flagged eight times (four false starts). According to STATS, Inc., the Rams have been charged with eight dropped passes, which is among the league’s lowest totals and just one fewer than the Ravens.
—Through ten games, Los Angeles is 13th in total offense. That translates into 20th rushing, tied for seventh passing, 12th scoring, with an offense that’s 22nd in third-down conversions and 15th in red-zone touchdown rate. Los Angeles is ranked tenth in total defense (fifth vs. rush, allowing 89.1 yards per game, 15th vs. pass, tenth scoring, allowing 19.8 points per game). The Rams rank approximately in the middle of the league pack as far as red-zone and third-down defense are concerned.
—Head coach Sean McVay (32-14, including postseason) is in his third season as the 23rd head coach in Rams franchise history. At the time of his hiring, he was the youngest head coach in modern-day NFL history at age 30. He is the grandson of the longtime head coach and administrator John McVay, a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ Hall of Fame. McVay spent seven years on the Washington Redskins staff before taking the Rams head coaching position.
—Last year’s Rams won the NFC Championship Game. The team’s regular-season record was 13-3, tied for the second-most wins in franchise history.
—Fourth-year quarterback Jared Goff is a 6-foot-4, 222-pound signal-caller from the University of California. Goff, who was the top overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, was first-team All-Pacific 12 Conference and has been invited to two Pro Bowls. Goff has 76 career touchdown passes and 35 interceptions in his career to date, playing to a 92 passer rating. This will be Goff’s first-ever meeting against Baltimore. Case Keenum started for the Rams in the team’s 2015 game at Baltimore. This year, Goff has completed 60.3 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns, ten interceptions, and a passer rating of 82.1. He has lost five fumbles.
—Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley leads the Rams’ ground attack with 525 yards. He has a 4.1-yards-per-carry average and seven of the team’s 13 rushing touchdowns despite not having any run of more than 25 yards this season. Gurley, a Baltimore native who went to high school in North Carolina and played collegiately at Georgia, was a 2015 first-round pick (tenth overall). He has played in three Pro Bowls and made two All-Pro teams. Gurley leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and touchdowns since his arrival into the league. Backup Malcolm Brown has three touchdowns, and wideout Robert Woods has one on an end-around. Goff has 21 carries, as well.
—Despite the Rams’ propensity to put the ball in the air, their receivers seem to get hurt at inopportune times. Leading receiver Cooper Kupp (team-high 61 catches, five of the team’s 11 receiving touchdowns) missed the team’s playoff run last year. Teammates Robert Woods (personal issue), who has 45 catches, and Brandin Cooks (concussion), were inactive for last week’s game against Chicago. Cooks, a former Patriot and Saint, has 27 catches and one score. Gurley has gathered in 18 catches out of the backfield with one touchdown. Tight end Gerard Everett has 35 receptions and a pair of scores. Tyler Hughes has contributed 21 catches and a touchdown.
—The Rams’ offensive line has allowed 16 sacks through the season’s first ten games. Andrew Whitworth is a 14-year left tackle in his third year with the Rams. He has been to four Pro Bowls and did not play in a winning postseason game until last year, having spent most of his career in Cincinnati. Right tackle Rob Havenstein was a 2015 second-round pick (57th overall) from Wisconsin, who is a Mount Airy, Maryland native. Austin Corbett and David Edwards are the guards. Edwards is a second-year fifth-round pick (169th overall). The center is Austin Blythe, signed as a waiver claim from Indianapolis.
—The Rams’ defensive line is paced by one of the league’s perennial standouts, defensive tackle Aaron Donald (team-high eight of the team’s 29 sacks). He was the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 despite a strong season by Baltimore’s CJ Mosley. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. Since 2016, Donald has 12 multi-sack games, which is the most in the league. He has a sack in five straight games (two last week), and his 16 tackle for loss lead the league. Sometimes getting overshadowed by Donald is 2012 first-round pick (14th overall) Michael Brockers (42 tackles, fifth on the team, 1.5 sacks), who was named a team captain last year. On the nose is second-year Rutgers product, Sebastian Joseph-Day, the 195th overall pick in 2018.
—Even though he was undrafted in 2016, inside linebacker Cory Littleton is a Pro Bowl selectee and second-team All-Pro pick. He leads the team in tackles with 82 total stops, and he also has 1.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries. Holding down an outside position is longtime NFL veteran Clay Matthews (seven sacks, three in two games vs. Ravens), a first-round pick (26th overall) of Green Bay in 2009 who defected to Los Angeles as an unrestricted free agent. The quartet is rounded out by inside man Troy Reeder and outside linebacker Dante Fowler, Jr. (6.5 sacks), a fifth-year player from Florida who was acquired in a trade with Jacksonville. One of the backup linebackers is Baltimore fourth-round pick Kenny Young, a UCLA product.
–The Rams have allowed 13 passing touchdowns and intercepted seven passes through ten games. Three players are tied for the team lead with two interceptions each, but one of them is now a Raven–cornerback Marcus Peters, who also has three touchdowns, one as a Ram. Cornerback Troy Hill is the only current Ram defensive back to have a pickoff. Starting opposite him is former Jacksonville first-round pick Jalen Ramsey (35 tackles), acquired near the trade deadline. The safeties are rookie second-round pick Taylor Rapp (61st overall) and former Chargers and Ravens free safety Eric Weddle; the two of them are second and third on the team in tackles with 72 and 61. A backup at the corner is Mickell Roby-Coleman, who was not flagged for his hard hit on a Saints receiver in last year’s NFC Championship Game.
—Third-year return specialist JoJo Watson broke into the league as an Indianapolis undrafted free agent who handles both kick and punt returns. On punts, he has ten fair catches on 27 returns and is averaging just over eight yards per runback. Watson has run back ten kickoffs for a 23.1-yard average. The Rams’ coverage teams are slightly below average, allowing 7.8 per punt return and over 24 yards on kicks.
—Eighth-year punter Johnny Hekker has been one of the league’s most consistent punters. The Oregon State product is a six-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl pick. He has only four touchbacks and just 11 coffin-corner kicks in 40 attempts, but he is grossing 47.8 yards per punt and netting 42.8. He has also had one punt blocked. Placekicker Greg Zuerlein has hit all 25 extra-point tries and is 18-for-23 on field goals for a team-high 79 points. However, four of his misses have come between 40-49 yards.
Prediction
The Rams are quite the phenomenon in recent seasons–with head-shaking lows and mountain-like highs. With a Super Bowl hangover this year, the Rams would be one spot out of the postseason if the postseason started today.
On Monday, they’ll face a Ravens team that offers significant challenges. Los Angeles’ star-studded defense will have its hands full against Baltimore run-first, QB-driven offense. On offense, the Rams’ up-and-down QB and spotty O-line will go up against the rejuvenated Ravens’ defense.
Offensively, the Ravens are more balanced than at any time in their 24-season history. Players like Middleton and Donald will make their share of plays but, overall, the Rams haven’t shown 60-minute consistency, which they’d need to beat the Ravens.
Baltimore 24, Los Angeles 13
