The Rams have clinched a playoff berth and, in theory, have very little to play for. While they are currently the #6 seed and could lock in that spot, a lot of movement could happen in the spots above them that would alter who they are playing anyway. The Lions are currently the #3 seed and would match up with the Rams if the playoffs started today (which would be an interesting narrative matchup with Stafford returning to Detroit for their first home playoff game in 30 years). The reality is that the Rams can’t lock in a matchup, however, and at this point in the season all three of the Lions, Cowboys, and Eagles are in a similar tier of “currently better than everyone except the 49ers, but still beatable”. With all of that being said, the Rams have already decided to rest most of their key players this week with Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald being ruled out by Thursday and more likely to come over the weekend.
The decision to sit Stafford means that Carson Wentz will get another shot as a starting NFL quarterback. Wentz went unsigned all offseason before finally joining the Rams in November. After a promising start to his career and a near-MVP level performance one season, Wentz took a nosedive the last few years with stints in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Washington that ended unceremoniously. The Rams offense is based around three pillars – its running game, formations, and pre-snap motions. They use the motions and formations to stress defenses before the snap and have a solid run game scheme that forces defenses to honor their ability to move the ball on the ground when things are working correctly. Wentz is a relatively mobile and athletic quarterback who can make plays with his legs, but his shortcomings have been largely tied to faulty decision-making and an inability to progress through reads efficiently. As such, this profiles as a game that the Rams will likely try to be even more run-centric than usual and will try to make sure their passing game concepts have easy first and second reads while giving Wentz the ability to scramble if nothing is there early. The 49ers resting key defenders will be extremely helpful to the Rams offense as they blitz at the third-lowest rate in the league and may struggle to get pressure on Wentz.
As mentioned earlier – Stafford, Kupp, and Williams have been ruled out but rookie sensation Puka Nacua appears set to play. He is 4 receptions and 29 yards away from the single-season NFL records in those respective categories, and the Rams intend to play him until he reaches those marks before “being smart” with him which is code for pulling him from the game. Young backs Ronnie Rivers and Zach Evans may get extended run for the Rams in this pseudo-preseason game, while the top receiving weapons are likely to be DeMarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, and rookie tight end Davis Allen. All three of those players have had flashes this season and the backs have not shown great ability as receivers, meaning that we could end up with a relatively condensed passing game if those three are the focuses of those one and two read progressions for Wentz. All things considered, the Rams will be trying to win this game but are unlikely to take big risks to player health to do it. They will want to run a version of their offense similar to what they normally run as they will still have some regular players on the field and have a playoff game next week, but they may play with a more methodical tempo and/or have more run-centric play-calling tendencies.
