Why the L.A. Rams Could Be Vulnerable on Saturday
When an NFL team has systemic issues, they generally manifest on the road and at home games alike – just in different ways.
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping that L.A.’s more vulnerable-looking efforts late in the 2018 regular season were not a mirage. Whether at the Coliseum or elsewhere the Rams struggled against fine teams and piddled against mediocre ones.
The Rams eked-out a victory at home over the Green Bay Packers on October 28th, thanks to nice games from QB Jared Goff and tailback Todd Gurley. But the ball control disappeared when the Eagles flew into LAX in December. Goff was intercepted as Philadelphia held L.A. to only 82 yards and escaped with a 30-23 victory that boosted the Iggles’ playoff chances considerably.
Things had gotten even worse in Chicago. A pre-holiday trip to the Windy City ended in despair as the Bears’ unholy defense poured it on Goff and the Mountain Goats. The much-debated QB was intercepted 4 times as the squad barely managed 200 yards of offense and were squeezed into a 15-6 defeat.
It’s funny that Mike Ditka says he doesn’t like snakes. His alma mater NFL franchise has built a defense like a python. Yet despite the December drubbing, it’s the Rams, not the Bears, who are still standing in the NFC playoffs.
The questions around Goff do not affect the excellent OL play, fearsome RB, solid defense and 4th-down innovation that the Cowboys can expect to compete with on Saturday. But if Dak Prescott is able to out-play his counterpart, all bets are off. Ezekiel Elliott is presently every bit of the back Todd Gurley is, and Big D will bring its own bovine OL to Los Angeles.
Dallas will face a potential field-position disadvantage playing against P Johnny Hekker. Another ill-timed interception from Goff, and Dak might take advantage of a rare short field to give that ‘Boys momentum in the Divisional playoff.
