Prediction: Rams will find a way in big swing game vs. Giants
ESPN.com
LOS ANGELES -- So much can change about the Los Angeles Rams based on the outcome of this game, at least from the outside. Lose, and that's three in a row, heading into the bye week with a 3-4 record that would turn the pressure up on Jeff Fisher and restart the clamoring for Jared Goff. Win, and the Rams have a winning record through seven weeks for only the second time in 10 years and can feel good about where they stand, especially with a schedule that resumes with four straight games against losing teams.
The Rams and the New York Giants each enter their matchup from London -- kickoff from Twickenham Stadium is 6:30 a.m. PT, so set your alarms accordingly -- with identical 3-3 records. Since the current playoff format began in 1990, 47.9 percent of teams that have started 4-3 have gone on to make the playoffs, while only 19 percent of teams to start 3-4 have made the playoffs. So, this could be a pretty big swing game.
And the thinking here is that the Rams find a way.
Their defense can't possibly play worse than it did while giving up a combined 61 points and missing an abundance of tackles in open space against the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions. Standout defensive end Robert Quinn is expected to return after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury, which would provide a big lift for Aaron Donald and ease some of the pressure off a shorthanded secondary.
Odell Beckham Jr. is a nightmare matchup for a team that is without its No. 1 cornerback, Trumaine Johnson, who is still nursing an ankle sprain. But Beckham was limited in practice because of a hip injury and won't be 100 percent, and the Rams' secondary should avoid all the mix-ups in coverage that came with breaking Troy Hill in last Sunday.
But the real encouragement comes from the Rams' offense.
Over the last two weeks, Case Keenum ranks second in the NFL in completion percentage (76.2) and fifth in passing yards (592). He should have plenty of time to throw against a defense that is last in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt. And if the Giants actually respect the Rams' passing attack, this may finally be the day Todd Gurley gets going, after now failing to reach 100 rushing yards in 13 of his last 14 games.
The Rams were walloped by the New England Patriots, 45-7, the last time they played in London, but that was in 2012. The Giants, who snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, have won each of their last six games against the Rams by an average of more than 14 points. But that's rather meaningless right now, too.
More noteworthy is that they've been held under 340 total yards in road games against the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, three teams that boast menacing defensive lines just like the Rams. And that they'll be breaking in a new kicker (Josh Brown is on the commissioner exempt list after a tumultuous week) and perhaps a new long snapper (Zak DeOssie is nursing an ankle injury). And that one of their primary safeties, Nate Berhe, has been ruled out.
Rams 28, Giants 24.
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