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The Los Angeles Rams are coming off of a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. However, they will get a chance to rectify that loss against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 at SoFi Stadium. The Eagles and Colts are built very similarly and Colts head coach Shane Steichen came from the Eagles’ system. In a sense, the Colts are simply a lesser version of the Eagles. Daniel Jones may not have the athleticism of Jalen Hurts, but he can be dangerous as a runner. Both teams are strong along the offensive line and have high level running backs carrying the rushing attack. Defensively Lou Anarumo is a good defensive coordinator capable of putting together a good gameplan like Vic Fangio.
Coming off of a difficult loss against the Eagles, we should see whether or not the Rams have learned from their mistakes of a week ago. It may not be the same level of test, but it will be a chance to see progress. Here are 5 keys to victory for the Rams against the Colts.
The engine of the Colts offense this season has been Jonathan Taylor. Shane Steichen has done a good job designing the run with an old school focus of running downhill and utilizing interior misdirection with traps, whams, power, and counter concepts. Steichen is very good at getting the look that he wants and taking advantage of it.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams did a great job containing Saquon Barkley. However, Taylor has been the most dangerous running back in football this season. He leads the league in rushing yards and 38.2 percent of his yards have come as a result of explosive runs. Taylor is third in the NFL in missed tackles forced per attempt and second in yards after contact per attempt. In fact, 65.7 percent of Taylor’s rushing yards have come after contact. The Rams defense has done a good job tackling this season, allowing the eighth-fewest yards after contact per carry and have recorded a league-low 8.5 percent missed tackle rate. However, all of that will be put to the test on Sunday.
This is going to be another game in which the Rams must take advantage of Blake Corum’s speed and attack the edges. Kyren Williams has the most man/duo concept runs in the NFL with 21. However, the Colts are one of the best defending it, allowing just 1.9 yards per carry on man/duo runs. Conversely, the Colts are allowing 6.3 yards per carry on outside zone runs and the sixth-most yards per carry on runs outside the tackles.
This is where Corum fits in. The Rams running backs lead in the NFL with 8.9 yards per carry on outside zone runs and ranks fourth in yards per carry on runs outside the tackles. This is a team that hasn’t been tested on wide receiver jet sweeps and that may be...
