The Green Bay Packers are ready to host Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau Field for the NFC Divisional Round playoffs on Saturday. The winner will play against the New Orleans Saints or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
Packers haven’t played against the Rams since 2018.
The obvious connection in this confrontation: Packers coach Matt LaFleur worked with McVay in Washington and Los Angeles. In 2017, LaFleur was McVay’s offensive coordinator with the Rams. The two are good friends and excellent coaches, setting the stage for an incredible schematic battle.
Here are 12 other things you should know about the McVay team:
1 Finished 10-6 in 2020
The Rams started 4-1 but finished 6-5 in the final 11 games, highlighting the inconsistency of McVay’s team. After defeating the Seahawks and Buccaneers in consecutive games leaving the bye to reach 7-4, the Rams lost three of the next five, including a 17 point favorite loss to the New York Jets. This is a team with a strong talent pool, but with some ups and downs. Consider the Rams to be a team that can beat anyone and lose to anyone. They are dangerous, but they are also combustible.
2 You just disturbed the Seahawks
The sixth seeded Rams got 176 yards in total from the rookie running back Cam Akers and two takeaways, including a pick-six, to disturb the Seahawks with the third seed on the road in Seattle during the NFC Wild Card Round. Darious Williams’s interception for a touchdown gave Rams a 13-3 lead early, Akers responded to a DK Metcalf touchdown with another before the break, and Robert Woods delivered the dagger with a 15-yard touchdown in the final fourth quarter. . Russell Wilson completed just 11 passes and took five sacks, while the Seahawks finished with just two third-down conversions and a total of 278 yards.
3 No. 1 defense
The Rams ended the regular season with the No. 1 NFL defense, at least statistically. Los Angeles was first in allowed yards, allowed points, allowed pass yards, allowed touchdown passes and first allowed descents. They also ranked first in yards per move, yards per move and points per move. Pro Football Focus classified the Rams defense as the # 1 defense in football, with the second best passing score and the best covering score. This is an elite group with two All-Pros from the first team (Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey) and many capable support pieces.
4 The decisive line
The Rams had 8-0 when they allowed 19 or less points and only 3-6 when they allowed 20 or more. This figure highlights the effectiveness of the Rams defense, but also the inconsistencies of the Rams attack. Scoring can put real pressure on Sean McVay’s team. In the six defeats, the Rams conceded an average of just 25 points, well below the Packers’ season average (31.8). However, only one team, the Buffalo Bills, managed to score 30 or more against the Rams.
5 two 90-catch receivers
The Rams may not know who will start as a defender, but the eventual holder under the center will have two highly effective targets at their side. Cooper Kupp (90) and Robert Woods (92) caught at least 90 passes in 2020. The pair produced just over 46% of the team’s conclusions and almost 46% of the team’s passing yards. Also, watch out for possible racing moves for Woods; he loaded 24 times for 155 yards and two scores in 2020.
6 Bag attack
The Rams finished with 53 sacks, second in the NFL, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. All-Pro Aaron Donald (13.5) and ex-Bear Leonard Floyd (10.5) led the league, but Rams also has five other players with at least 3.0 sacks in 2020, including strikers Morgan Fox and Michael Brockers. The Packers allowed only 20 bags of Aaron Rodgers in 2020.
7 Rotation time?
The Rams did not have a turnover in Seattle, but McVay’s team had at least one in all 16 games of the regular season. Los Angeles ended with 25 freebies in total, including 13 interceptions and three fumbles lost by quarterback Jared Goff. When turning the ball two or more times, the Rams went 2-3, including a pair of losses with four turnovers against the Dolphins and 49ers. The Packers were 11-1 with at least one takeaway in 2020, and Mike Pettine’s defense delivered a couple of turns in both wins over the Titans and Bears to end the season.
8 Ballhawks
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey and safety John Johnson are the secondary stars of the Rams, but the supporting actors cannot be forgotten. Cornerbacks Darious Williams and Troy Hill and safety Jordan Fuller delivered 10 interceptions, 29 pass breaks, two fumble bounces and three defensive touchdowns during the regular season. Williams added a six choice in Seattle. The Packers led the NFL with just 11 draws in 2020, but they need to be careful with football on Saturday.
9 Goff rating
After conquering the NFL world as the leader of Sean McVay’s attack in 2017 and 2018, Rams quarterback Jared Goff cooled off considerably. In the last two seasons, Goff ranked 23rd in the passer rank (88.1) among the 32 defenders with at least 500 attempts, and his 29 interceptions are the third most. Goff still has only two weeks of thumb surgery and he didn’t start in Week 17 or against the Seahawks last week. The Rams used him as an emergency defender after John Wolford suffered a neck injury and Goff completed just nine passes. It is currently unclear who will start for Rams in the quarterback on Saturday.
10 Tested on the road, but tested in cold weather?
The Rams played five games away from home against playoff teams in 2020, including last week’s victory in Seattle. They went 3-2 in the five games, with wins over the Seahawks, Buccaneers and Washington Football Team and losses for the Bills and Seahawks. This team will not be afraid to go out on the road to face a good team. But in the cold? Sean McVay’s team hasn’t played a real cold game all season. The expected freezing temperatures in Green Bay will provide a new test for Southern California visitors.
11 rookie runner
The Rams ended the season with three different running backs running for at least 400 yards in total, including the impressive newcomer Cam Akers. The choice of the second round ran for 130 yards or more in two of his last four games, including 131 in the victory over the Seahawks. He’s a potential big-shot threat. Expect the Rams to feed you the ball on Saturday. Akers has run at least 20 times in four of the last five games he has played and has averaged nearly 100 yards in five games.
12 Tandem Tight End
The Rams completed 85 passes for almost 1,000 receiving yards for tight end Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett in 2020. Neither is truly dynamic, but both can open up and create great moves in the passing game. Add receiver # 3 Josh Reynolds to the two tight ends and Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, and Rams has had five players with at least 400 yards of reception this season.