The Las Vegas Raiders can gain some ground in the AFC playoff picture as they head to SoFi Stadium for a date with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football.
At the moment, the Raiders are two games back of the New York Jets in the postseason race, having won their last three contests, while the reigning Super Bowl champs are well back of a playoff berth in the NFC, losing six straight games heading into this encounter.
Match preview
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Sean McVay's Rams are running out of time to try to salvage a campaign which has been a train wreck from the hop.
Another defeat on Thursday would drop them to 3-10 on the season and could potentially eliminate them from postseason contention, making them the first defending champions to miss the playoffs since the Denver Broncos in 2016.
While they have suffered some significant injuries of late, the Rams have not looked like themselves all year, winning just one of their last nine games, while they cannot accumulate more than eight wins this season, which would be the fewest for this franchise since going 4-12 during the 2016-17 campaign.
Statistically, they are the second-worst offensive unit in the NFL, converting just four of their 12 third downs last weekend versus the Seattle Seahawks, losing 27-23 on that occasion, while sitting 25th in the passing game and 30th in rushing this year.
They have improved their pass rush lately, with three or more sacks in two of their last three contests, dropping Geno Smith behind the line of scrimmage four times on Sunday.
Their defence has done its best to provide a spark to their offensive unit, producing multiple turnovers in back-to-back games, but they have not been able to capitalize, tossing a pair of interceptions in defeats to the Kansas City Chiefs (26-10) and Seattle.
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At long last, the Raiders that we all expected to see at the start of the year have begun to play up to their potential and are on the verge of matching their longest winning streak from last season.
Their ground game has enabled them to climb back into playoff contention, racking up 546 rushing yards combined on their current winning streak.
They have trailed at the half in two of their previous three outings, posting 14 points in the third quarter last weekend versus the Los Angeles Chargers, moving them just one game behind them for second in the AFC West as they beat the other LA team, 27-20.
Josh McDaniels has seen his offence rack up over 400 yards in each of their last three games, and they have needed those big numbers to emerge victorious, conceding just under 400 yards to their opponents in every one of those encounters.
After this game on Thursday, the Raiders only face the NFC one more time before the end of the regular season, which Vegas should be happy about, seeing as they are 1-3 against the opposite conference during this campaign, having lost four of their last five contests against those teams since December 2021.
From the 2020 regular season until now, they have only suffered one defeat away from home in December, with that one loss coming at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs last season (48-9).
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Team News
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Bobby Wagner had quite the outing for the Rams in a losing effort last weekend versus his former team, with the eight-time Pro Bowler posting a pair of sacks, along with an interception, Derion Kendrick and Ernest Jones combined to make 15 tackles, while Cam Akers was their leading rusher with 17 carries for 60 yards.
John Wolford got the start at quarterback versus Seattle, going 14/26 for 178 yards, tossing a pair of interceptions, Tutu Atwell led them in receiving with two catches for 48 yards, Matt Gay went three for three on field goal attempts and Van Jefferson averaged 19.5 yards through the air with two grabs.
Aaron Donald missed their last outing with a sprained ankle, Wolford was not at practice on Monday due to tightness in his neck, Ben Skowronek and Lance McCutcheon have sore shoulders, Terrell Lewis has a back problem and Travin Howard could be out with a hip injury.
Josh Jacobs is on fire for Las Vegas at the moment, leading the league with 1,303 rushing yards and hitting the century mark in three successive games, Davante Adams has seven touchdown catches in his previous five outings, currently fifth in the league regarding receiving yards (1,176) and Derek Carr has thrown for multiple scores in five consecutive encounters.
Nate Hobbs had eight tackles in their victory versus the Chargers, Chandler Jones posted three sacks, with their other one coming courtesy of Isaiah Pola-Mao, while Mack Hollins made five receptions.
Rock Ya-Sin is dealing with a problem in his knee, Kendal Vickers has a sore back, while Denzel Perryman practised on Monday despite an issue with his wrist.
Jayon Brown could be out because of a problem with his hand, Brandon Bolden has a calf strain and Andrew Billings might not be available having previously injured his fibula.
Head To Head
Thursday will be the first time these sides meet in their current cities, as the previous encounter came in 2018, when the Raiders were still in Oakland and former LA QB Jared Goff threw touchdown passes to Todd Gurley and Cooper Kupp, while Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals as the Rams won 33-13.
The Raiders lead the overall series 8-6, as the closest game between the two took place in 2010 when Sebastian Janikowski booted three field goals.
Louis Murphy caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski in that game, with Oakland coming away with a 16-14 triumph over the Rams, who were in St. Louis back then.
They were still in St. Louis when they defeated the Raiders in 2014, as Tre Mason ran for two scores and caught a TD pass from Shaun Hill, helping the Rams win big, 52-0.
We say: Los Angeles Rams 21-35 Las Vegas Raiders
Defensively, the Rams have fought hard to stay in their last few games, though this team have done nothing while in possession to suggest they can stick with an offence as potent as Las Vegas, who are starting to hit their stride.
Vegas still turn the ball over once in a while, but their ground game and explosive receivers should be enough for them to get past a team who appear to be broken physically and mentally in the Rams.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
