Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams are back where they were at this time last year: the divisional round of the playoffs. This time, they will be the team that’s favored and the team with more playoff experience. The Rams are the team looking to get back to the NFC Championship with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. On Sunday, they will be taking on the Cinderella team that America is cheering for to win. The Rams will look to put a stop to a team that has consistently won when the odds were against them. This season, the Rams have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL. Against the Bears, they’ll need to prove it. Here are five keys to victory.
If the weather is going to be cold, the Rams have to win this game in the trenches on both sides of the ball. This is one area where the Rams actually have a significant advantage. The Bears defense has allowed the second-most yards before contact in the NFL this season at 1.9. Since Week 10, they have allowed 2.8 yards before contact. he Rams are getting Kevin Dotson back for this game, and their adjusted line yards and their adjusted line yards in the running game is the best of the last 30 years. Since Week 10, the Rams are getting 2.64 yards before contact on offense.
That doesn’t mention that the Bears rank 27th in quarterback pressure rate at 31.6 percent and the Rams are allowing the second-lowest pressure rate in the NFL. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rams have a significant advantage in the trenches and it isn’t particularly close. That’s something that will work in the Rams’ favor.
While the Rams offense has been the best running team via success rate in the NFL, the Bears aren’t far behind. It’s been the strength of their team. They also have a 48.5 percent rushing success rate. Their 0.4 EPA per rush ranks fourth. The key here is that this has been the strength of the Rams defense for most of the season. The Rams built their defense this season to stop the run.
They have allowed a few explosive runs over the last eight weeks. However, they got back to what worked against the Panthers as Chuba Hubbard has 3.5 yards per carry and Rico Dowdle has 1.8. The Rams may not get negative plays, but their 37.6 percent rushing success rate ranks sixth in the NFL. That’s been the case even over the last six weeks. Since Week 14, the Rams have allowed a rushing success rate of 36.9 percent despite ranking 23rd in rushing EPA. In other words, from down to down, the run defense has remained very good. It’s the explosive runs to Kenneth Walker and Bijan Robinson that have hurt them statistically. The Rams should be able to do enough against the Bears’ run game to give...
