Game Overview ::
By papy324 >>
- Austin Ekeler has played about 65% of the snaps in the past month.
- Cam Akers has played about 75% of the snaps in the past two games.
- The Chargers passing game is likely to succeed but unlikely to post a slate-winning score.
- Both teams are set up well to succeed in their preferred style.
- The Rams offense is in Week 3, not Week 17.
How rams Will Try To Win ::
The Super Bowl-drunk 5-10 Rams come into Week 17 on the verge of putting up the most futile title defense of all time (that crown is currently held by the 1999 Broncos who went 6-10). Playoff scenarios matter for a lot of teams this week but the Rams aren’t among them. They’ve been eliminated for weeks, which makes them one of the more predictable teams for DFS purposes. The Rams are going to keep playing “hard” meaning there shouldn’t be any significant risk to them sitting players who would otherwise be starters. The Rams just beat Nathaniel “can’t hack it” Hackett out of his job, and Sean McVay would like nothing more than to finish a lost season with some momentum going into next year.
Sean McVay was one of the first coaches to take advantage of playing at an elevated pace but that has not been the case this year. Roster limitations have slowed the Rams to a sluggish speed (27th overall) which is no fluke (30th in situational neutral pace). Their pace barely quickens if chasing points (23rd when trailing). The Rams play slow in all situations, in what looks like an effort from the coaching staff to hide what has been a dismal offense. For perspective, the Rams 51 points last week make up 18% of their 281 total points scored on the year! It’s hard to blame McVay for trying to lean on his defense with all his best offensive players injured. The Chargers have been solid against the pass (9th in DVOA) but brutalized on the ground (28th in DVOA), and their DVOA ranking doesn’t even tell the whole story of how weak the Chargers have been against the run. Without repeating a bunch of stats OWS readers are familiar with by this point in the season, the takeaway is the Chargers run defense is tissue paper soft. The Chargers are one of the clearest run funnels in the league and McVay should be more than happy to take advantage of their relative weakness, given his team’s injuries in the passing game. The Rams have essentially been trying to run out the clock on the season and this matchup will encourage them to stick with that plan of attack. The Rams O-line hasn’t been good (22nd in adjusted line yards) but they can still win this matchup. Expect the Rams to continue to play slow, run the ball, and hope their season ends painlessly.
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