The Los Angeles Rams (3-2) take on the Baltimore Ravens (1-4) in one of the most fascinating matchups in this week's early slate of games. Los Angeles is coming off a heartbreaking loss on Thursday Night Football and likely has revenge on the mind. Meanwhile, Baltimore is absolutely floundering after a string of ugly losses.
One team will get their season back on track with a win in this game. And the other could go spiraling out of control.
But which team will come out on top on Sunday? And could the repercussions be for whichever team loses this game?
Below we will explore three bold predictions from the Week 6 matchup between the Rams and Ravens.
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Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua connect for 150+ receiving yards
Is Puka Nacua about to have the best wide receiver season of all time?!
Rams QB Matthew Stafford is known for targeting his favorite wide receiver with plenty of targets. He did it with Calvin Johnson in Detroit, and again with Cooper Kupp in LA.
But Stafford's connection with Nacua is frankly incredible, and he is pacing towards a monster season.
Nacua has 52 receptions for 588 yards and two touchdowns through five games. That has him on pace for 176 receptions for 2,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns at a 17-game sample size. That would see him break Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving record of 1,964 yards from the 2012 season.
The Rams are expected to have left guard Steve Avila back for Week 6 against the Ravens. Avila suffered an ankle sprain in Week 1 and has not played since.
Getting him back in the lineup will be huge for LA's offense and Stafford in particular.
I'm predicting that Stafford and Nacua connect for at least 150 yards against the Ravens.
Nacua's best game came against the Colts where he managed 13 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown. So while it is bold to predict a 150-yard performance, I understand that it's been done before.
But if Nacua comes anywhere close to that kind of yardage, the Rams are almost guaranteed to get the win.
Kyren Williams has 50 rushing yards more than Derrick Henry
Williams has disappointed many fantasy football managers this season. But he is still playing much better than the legendary Derrick Henry.
The 25-year-old running back has 82 carries for 368 yards and a touchdown through five games. That stat line would look better if he hadn't fumbled away a touchdown on Thursday Night Football.
Meanwhile, King Henry simply has not looked like himself after Week 1's dominant game against the Bills.
Henry rumbled for 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns in that game. Unfortunately, he's only managed 148 rushing yards and two touchdown combined in the four games since.
He's also dealt with some fumbling issues, which only makes the situation worse.
There's also the Lamar Jackson of it all. When Jackson is not on the field, opposing defenses know they can sell out to stop Henry. The Rams could very easily deploy a similar strategy in Week 6.
I am predicting that Kyren Williams will outpace Derrick Henry by at least 50 rushing yards on Sunday.
That sounds bold on paper, but is it actually that unlikely?
Williams has come close to this over the past three weeks. In fact, he's had more rushing yards than Henry in each of those games (44 yards in Week 3, 35 yards in Week 4, and 32 yards in Week 5).
Perhaps the head-to-head nature of this game could finally put Williams over the top.
Time to run the football, Rams.
Ravens get soundly beaten by Rams without Lamar Jackson
This truly is the nightmare scenario for the Ravens.
Baltimore's season is almost completely tanked at 1-4. If they cannot find a way to beat the Rams in Week 6, the could fall helplessly behind in the AFC playoff race.
The Ravens are not purely stumbling because of poor play. They've also been dealt a mountain of injuries that has simply changed what kind of team they are.
Lamar Jackson missed his fourth consecutive practice on Wednesday and all signs are pointing to him sitting out another week. That's terrible news for the Ravens, as backup Cooper Rush threw for 179 yards with three interceptions against the Texans last week.
Baltimore's defense is banged up too. Nnamdi Madubuike is out for the season and multiple other contributors, including Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton, have been dinged up too.
Put all of that together, and this Week 6 game feels like a blowout in the making.
The betting markets agree that this is a one-sided game. Los Angeles comes in as favorites at -7.5 on DraftKings despite traveling to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. That's basically saying they should win by more than 10 points.
I have the Rams beating the spread and winning against the Ravens by at least two touchdowns.
