Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers have plenty of history. These used to be two NFC West rivals before division realignment. In the 2003-04 NFC Divisional Round, these two teams played one of the best playoff games ever that went to double overtime with the Panthers winning. Back in Week 13, the Panthers won despite being double-digit underdogs and that will once again be the case on Saturday. The Rams head into the postseason as potential favorites to make a Super Bowl run, but it will all start in Carolina. Let’s get into our five keys to victory.
It’s pretty clear that the Rams have to be able to come out on top in the run game against the Panthers, especially on defense. One of the few ways that the Panthers can win this game is if they are able to control the game on the ground and play on their own terms. That’s exactly what happened back in Week 13 when Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle combined for 35 carries for 141 yards. It was because of this that the Panthers controlled the game in the second half with 19:35 in time of possession. A big difference in this game will be Poona Ford being healthy and Quentin Lake returning to the lineup. With Ford on the field in Week 13, the Rams allowed 15 carries for 48 yards. On plays in which Ford was not on the field, the Panthers had 20 carries for 93 yards.
Now, the Rams didn’t run the ball poorly in the first meeting. Back in Week 13, they averaged 0.43 EPA per rush. Blake Corum and Kyren Williams had 153 yards rushing with a 70 percent success rate. The Rams need to remain efficient in the run game and that gets more difficult without Kevin Dotson. From Weeks 1-15, the Rams averaged 5.54 yards per carry running behind the right guard (Kevin Dotson) via PFF. From Weeks 16-18, the Rams have averaged 2.54 with Justin Dedich in that spot.
Dotson activates so much of what the Rams do in the run game. He is a top-six run-blocking offensive lineman in all of football. If this is a game that’s going to have rain, the Rams need to be able to run the ball and control the game on the ground. They need to do a better job of limiting the explosive runs which they have allowed in recent weeks. If the Panthers are able to have 38 minutes in time of possession and play the game on their terms, it gives them a chance.
In the first meeting between the Rams and Panthers, Carolina seemed to be hitting triple sevens on every single high variance play. It wasn’t just that the Panthers intercepted Matthew Stafford, they returned it for a touchdown. Their first score on offense came on a throw-away screen play on...
