After an impressive 38-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, the Los Angeles Rams find themselves back ahead in the nip-and-tuck race for the NFC West title. The Rams are now tied with the Seattle Seahawks at 8-4 with four games remaining on their schedule, including an all-important Week 16 visit to Seattle.
After a short turnaround, Los Angeles will host the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football in the teams’ first meeting since Super Bowl 53. This time, the Rams are hoping for a different result after the Patriots shut down their offense in a 13-3 victory in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history.
A lot of things have changed since their last meeting, as Tom Brady is no longer under center for New England. The Rams gained a measure of revenge when they took down Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, and now Sean McVay and the Rams have a chance to get back at Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Winning against the six-time champion head coach, however, will not be an easy task, as the Patriots have seemingly found their stride after some struggles earlier this season. New England is coming off a dominant 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers and have won four of five to move up to 6-6. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has won three of four and look to be rounding into form as the race for the playoffs kicks into high gear.
Here are four bold predictions when the Rams welcome the Patriots to SoFi Stadium.
1. Jared Goff passes for two touchdowns
After being called out by head coach Sean McVay after an error-filled performance in their Week 12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Rams quarterback Jared Goff responded with one of his best games last week. He completed 37-of-47 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Cardinals on Sunday. Goff, however, struggled in the Rams’ last game against the Patriots, completing just 19-of-38 passes for 229 yards and no touchdowns with one interception in that Super Bowl loss.
The New England defense has gone through some changes since the Super Bowl, but they still rank among the best in the NFL, allowing an average of just 21.3 points per game (No. 7) and yielding 225.8 passing yards per game (No. 13). The 26-year-old had some key takeaways from his first Super Bowl appearance:
“First of all, you take away how good Coach Belichick is,” Goff said, per ESPN. “It’s not a night that you're particularly happy with, but an experience that you’re able to hopefully draw from as time goes on throughout my career.”
On Thursday, Goff will have a chance to prove he has learned a lot. He hasn’t had a game with more than one touchdown since the win over Tampa Bay, but if he doesn’t try to do too much and doesn’t cough up the football like he did against Arizona, he should be able to find his receivers for two touchdowns and build on his strong Week 13 performance.
2. Cooper Kupp makes a difference after missing Super Bowl 53
A lot of credit goes to the New England defense for holding down the Rams to just a field goal in Super Bowl 53, but the Rams did miss wide receiver Cooper Kupp after an ACL injury prematurely ended his season. Now, the 27-year-old leads Los Angeles with 74 receptions, 836 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns, followed by Robert Woods, who has 71 receptions, 764 receiving yards, and a team-high five receiving touchdowns.
Heading into the game, Belichick himself even admitted that Kupp makes the Rams' offense more deadly compared to their last meeting.
Kupp had eight receptions and 73 receiving yards against the Cardinals in Week 13, but he hasn’t found the end zone since the Rams’ Week 4 victory over the New York Giants and has only had three games where he surpassed 100 receiving yards. With the former Eastern Washington Eagle rejoining the Los Angeles offense, he should be able to make a difference and help the Rams against the Patriots.
3. Aaron Donald picks up another sack
After failing to record a sack in the Rams’ wins over the Seahawks and Buccaneers, defensive tackle Aaron Donald was back to his usual disruptive self, tallying sacks in his team’s last two games. The two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year now has 11 sacks this season, which ranks second in the league.
Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has been sacked 19 times in the team’s 12 games, and Donald, who was largely kept in check when the Rams lost to New England in the Super Bowl (five tackles, one quarterback hit), should be motivated to get to Newton.
Just like Goff, Donald has a chance to prove that he has learned a lot from their Super Bowl defeat, and he should be able to pressure and get to Newton at some point in the game like he did against San Francisco and Arizona in the last two weeks.
4. The Rams get a close win and stay on top of NFC West
The Patriots aren't known for their scoring, averaging just 22.8 points (23rd in the NFL) and 342.3 yards per game (22nd in the NFL), but they have one of the league’s best rushing attacks, averaging 150.9 yards per game on the ground. The Rams, meanwhile, are the third-best team in the league against the run, giving up an average of just 93.1 rushing yards per game, which means that aspect of defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s defense will be tested by Newton and company.
But if the Rams are able to slow down the Patriots’ rushing attack, and if Goff continues to play well and avoid errors like he did in Week 13 against Arizona, they should be able to pull out a tough win at home against New England. The game has significant playoff implications for both teams, so Belichick and the Pats will not go down without a fight, but Los Angeles should still emerge with a hard-earned win to go to 9-4 and remain on top of the NFC West.
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