The Los Angeles Rams head to the Pacific Northwest Thursday night in an attempt to bounce back after last week’s humiliating loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jared Goff and Co. could also potentially be batting for first place against the Seattle Seahawks depending on what happens with the San Francisco 49ers later in the week.
No matter how some players might feel about them, these mid-week divisional matchups are always fun. It’s in this that we look at five things to know for the Rams-Seahawks “Thursday Night Football” tilt.
Jared Goff’s struggles
It’s been well documented since last week’s four-turnover performance just how much Goff has regressed recently. He’s accounted for 13 touchdowns and 20 turnovers over the past 12 games. Goff has also thrown five touchdowns with 10 turnovers in his past six road starts.
No one can say it’s going to be easy heading into Seattle and taking on both the Seahawks and the “12th Man.” Goff has to make a statement in this game, especially given how much improved the NFC West is this season.
Rams history in Seattle is pretty good
Los Angeles has won three of their past four meetings against the division rival Seahawks in Seattle. That comes after a 10-year stretch in which the Rams went winless in the Pacific Northwest.
Whether this will translate to a win for the Rams remains to be seen. They are 15-3 on the road under Sean McVay. That’s the best road record in the NFL since the start of the 2017 season. As it relates to the Seahawks, they have uncharacteristically lost five of their past 12 homes games.
Regression from Rams defense
Los Angeles wasn’t tremendous on defense during its Super Bowl run last season. In fact, it ranked 20th in the league in scoring at 24 points per game and 14th in yards against. Coming off a Week 4 outing in which they gave up 55 points to the Buccaneers, the Rams now rank 24th in scoring defense. Interestingly enough, they rank 11th in total defense.
At issue here is a red-zone defense that is giving up touchdowns at a whopping 64% clip. That ranks in the bottom 10 in the NFL. This number also stood at 55% last season. Comparatively, Seattle’s offense ranks second in the NFL in the red zone. It is scoring six a whopping 79% of the time.
Strong run defenses
The likes of Chris Carson and Todd Gurley, among others, are going to have a hard time getting it going on the ground in this game. For you daily fantasy football players out there, we’d caution against going with any running back here.
Seattle has yielded the sixth-fewest rushing yards in the NFL at less than 80 per game. On the other hand, Los Angeles ranks ninth and is giving up just 3.6 yards per rush. For his part, Gurley is averaging 80 rushing yards per game in his career against the Seahawks.
Betting Lines (via DraftKings)
Line: Seahawks (-1.5)
Over/Under: 49.5
First touchdown: Tyler Lockett (+750)
First touchdown: Todd Gurley (+800)