Two of the biggest disappointments in the NFL this season will square off on Christmas Day at SoFi Stadium as the Los Angeles Rams host the Denver Broncos.
LA were eliminated from postseason contention on Monday, losing 24-12 to the Green Bay Packers, while the Broncos will also miss the playoffs despite defeating the Arizona Cardinals 24-15 last Sunday.
Match preview
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The Super Bowl reign of Sean McVay's Rams will soon be over after LA dropped their seventh contest in their last eight earlier this week.
Their performance on Monday Night Football reflected what we have seen from this team most of the season, a failure to move the ball consistently on offence or keep drives alive, going 4/11 on third downs.
They could only manage 156 yards of total offence versus Green Bay, only the second time all season that the Rams had registered fewer than 200 yards in a single game.
From the start of the year, their running attack has let them down and forced them into third and long situations, and with three weeks remaining in their regular season, that has not changed as LA are ranked 30th in the NFL regarding rushing and have not hit the 100-yard plateau in either of their previous two encounters.
On Monday, McVay did see his D-line perform a lot better, sacking Aaron Rodgers three times, though they allowed five on their quarterback as well.
Heading into this encounter, the Rams have lost just one of their last three home games versus AFC opponents, holding two of those teams (the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars) to under 20 points.
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Given the excitement of having a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and a new head coach who had been a highly successful offensive coordinator, 2022 has been a massive letdown for fans in Broncos country.
For Nathaniel Hackett, these last three games might be about survival, as the Denver head coach has many people calling for him to be let go.
His saving grace could be his defence, a unit that have allowed the fourth-fewest yards per game this year (309.0), while conceding fewer than 100 yards rushing in back-to-back contests.
On the opposite side of the ball, it has been a different story, with Denver scoring 10 or fewer points in five games this year while also posting fewer than 20 on 10 occasions.
Their 52 combined points in the last two games are more than they have totalled in their four previous encounters, which tells you a lot about the kind of season it has been in the Mile-High City.
A solid ground game has enabled them to be a much more formidable offensive unit lately, with Denver rushing for over 150 yards in consecutive games.
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Team News
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The Baker Mayfield magic that we saw last Thursday was invisible in their previous outing as the new Rams pivot threw for a mere 111 yards against Green Bay, with a touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee, Cam Akers was better running the ball, accumulating a 5.4-yard average, and Van Jefferson had a pair of catches for 32 yards.
Nick Scott led LA with seven tackles on Monday, and Troy Hill had six, the same amount as Taylor Rapp, who also had an interception, while Greg Gaines picked up their only sack.
Ben Skowronek will likely be sidelined on Sunday because of a calf strain, David Long is dealing with a sore groin, while Jake Gervase, Aaron Donald and Marquise Copeland all have ankle injuries.
Brett Rypien started in place of Russell Wilson last Sunday as the Broncos backup went 21/26 for 197 yards and a touchdown, Latavius Murray averaged 5.4 yards per carry, along with a touchdown, Marlon Mack also ran for a score and Eric Tomlinson had a TD grab.
Jerry Jeudy led Denver with seven catches for 76 yards, Justin Simmons had a pair of interceptions against the Cards, Patrick Surtain had one, while DeShawn Williams made an impact on the defensive line with 2.5 sacks plus a couple of tackles.
Jacob Bobenmoyer took part in practice all week despite an issue in his wrist, K'Waun Williams missed practice on Thursday with a sore knee/wrist, Courtland Sutton is questionable due to a hamstring strain, while Randy Gregory is not expected to see the field on Sunday because of a knee injury.
Head To Head
LA have won nine of their 14 meetings versus Denver, including the last one in 2018 when Todd Gurley ran for a pair of touchdowns, and Cairo Santos kicked three field goals as the Rams won 23-20.
Sunday will be the first time these teams square off in California since 1994, and on that occasion, Howard Griffith and Willie Anderson caught touchdown passes from Chris Chandler and Jerome Bettis ran for a score, helping the Rams defeat Denver 27-21 in Anaheim.
The last victory for Denver against the Rams came when the current Super Bowl champions were based in St. Louis, as Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey caught touchdown passes from Brian Griese and Jason Elam made three field goals helping the Broncos to a 23-16 triumph in the Mile-High City.
We say: Los Angeles Rams 17-14 Denver Broncos
Denver should be able to keep the Rams' offence at bay for a while, but we believe that they will have difficulties moving the ball themselves, leading to fatigue on the defensive side and LA eventually capitalising.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
