The Los Angeles Rams have a tough battle on their hands on Monday night football against the Baltimore Ravens. This really is a must-win for the Rams as they try to climb back into the playoff race, and it's not going to be easy going against one of the best teams in football.
To get the job done, it's going to take a special effort from the whole team but these two x-factors are going to be most important.
1. Jared Goff
On offense, there is one big key and he will be under center controlling the offense. There have been games this year where Jared Goff looks like one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and in other games, he looks like a quarterback who is on his way out of the league.
In his last start, he had a few good throws but for the most part, he struggled and didn't even throw a touchdown. The good news for the Rams in that game was they were facing the Chicago Bears. Teams have seemed to figure out how to slow down Goff, and he hasn't made the adjustments to turn it around.
The Ravens are a lot better team than the Bears and if Goff plays the same type of game like last week, the Rams won't be coming away with a victory.
It's going to be important that Goff pushes the ball down the field and makes a few big plays.
2. Rams defense against Lamar Jackson's legs
This is no way a knock against Lamar Jackson's throwing ability because he can also beat teams with his arm, but it's most important in this game for the Rams defense to take away Jackson's running ability.
In the Ravens' last game against the Houston Texans, Jackson rushed 10 times for 79 yards, and on the season no team has been able to take away his legs. Teams have tried to put a spy on Jackson and it still hasn't worked so the Ravens are going to have to be super creative in this game to take him away.
Getting pressure from the defensive line is also going to be a key to make sure that Jackson can't just sit back in the pocket and pick apart the defense.
Making Jackson one dimensional and taking away his legs won't guarantee a win for the Rams, but if Jackson does run wild that would guarantee a loss.
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