The best offense is a good defense. Good defense beats good offense. Defense wins championships.
The Rams will rely on those old saws when they try to cut down quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
There are other subplots in this second-round playoff game, like the battle of coaching wits between Sean McVay and former Rams assistant Matt LaFleur, the health of Rams quarterback Jared Goff and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and how the Rams will handle the non-quite-frozen tundra.
But it starts as a showdown between the Packers’ offense, which leads the NFL in scoring (31.8 points a game), and the Rams’ defense, the league’s hardest team to score against (18.5).
“This is why fans love the game, is to see matchups like this,” said Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, “their offense versus our defense.”
The sixth-seeded Rams are 6 1/2-point underdogs against the top-seeded Packers, who were on a first-round bye and resting while L.A. was upsetting the third-seeded Seahawks 30-20 last Saturday.
But could great defense outweigh all of the Packers’ advantages?
McVay was asked if he’d rather be the offense or the defense in a collision of the best of both.
“I would say I’ll take the defense, because that’s the team that I’m on, and I feel very confident in the way that they’ve carried us in a lot of games this year,” McVay said this week.
There’s history to support the Rams coach’s optimism.
By unofficial count, in the 19 seasons since the NFL went to its current conference and division alignment, four postseason games have pitted the team that scored the most points in the regular season against the team that allowed the fewest.
The defensive leader won three of the four: Seattle beating Denver 43-8 and New England beating Atlanta 34-28 in the Super Bowls following the 2013 and 2016 seasons, and Seattle beating Green Bay 28-22 in the NFC championship game after the 2014 season. The lone win for the offense was Carolina’s 31-24 victory over Seattle in the 2015 divisional round.
In the same 19-year stretch, teams with the top defense, points-wise, won five Super Bowls and went to two others; teams with the top offense, points-wise, won one Super Bowl and went to five others.
The Rams must contain Rodgers, the league’s likely MVP this season, wide receiver Davante Adams, who set Packers receiving records, and running back Aaron Jones, who rushed for 1,100 yards.
A lot will depend on cornerback Jalen Ramsey covering Adams, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald being the best Aaron on the field.
Donald had two of the three sacks of Rodgers when the Rams beat the Packers 29-27 at the Coliseum in 2018, the last time they played.
“(Rodgers is) not the fastest guy, but he can move,” said Donald, who has given every indication he will play at Green Bay after missing most of the second half of the Seattle game with a rib injury. “We’ve got a challenge, but that’s what you expect in a playoff game.
“If we let him sit in the pocket, let him move around comfortably, see down the field and make things happen, it could be a long day for us.”
Note the scores in those earlier clashes of top offenses and defenses, and you realize that a good defense often prevails because it has a pretty good offense on its side.
The Rams have a hit-and-miss offense that’s dealing with injuries.
Goff returns as starter 19 days after surgery to stabilize his fractured and dislocated throwing thumb, and a week after he came off the bench to replace injured John Wolford and play solidly at Seattle. Wolford’s neck injury will keep him out this week. Blake Bortles backs up Goff.
Kupp, Goff’s favorite passing target, didn’t practice this week and is listed as questionable to play after leaving the Seahawks game with bursitis in a knee. Left guard David Edwards is questionable with an ankle injury; Bobby Evans would start if he doesn’t. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth missed practice time but is expected to play his second game since knee surgery in November.
Those injuries might not feel any better in the classic postseason football weather expected for the Rams’ first playoff game at Lambeau Field. (The Rams are 1-1 in the playoffs against the Packers: a 28-7 loss at Milwaukee in 1967, the week before Green Bay’s Ice Bowl victory over the Cowboys; and a 45-17 win in St. Louis in the 2001 season.)
A high temperature of 36 is forecast, with wind and a chance of rain and snow before the 1:35 p.m. (L.A. time) kickoff.
Goff practiced in gloves this week and said he’ll decide Saturday whether to wear them in the game.
“At times, it can help with grip. Just the grip on the ball if it’s cold or windy or something,” Goff said.
Wide receiver Robert Woods, the L.A. native, said no unusual equipment will be needed.
“Really, it’s just put on your (long) sleeves and get to work,” Woods said. “Whether it’s 20 degrees or 80 degrees, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got a game to win.”
Rookie running back Cam Akers is another who downplayed the effects of the cold, saying that can “mess with you mentally if you let it.”
Akers remembered playing for Florida State against Notre Dame in 2018 when it was 27 degrees in South Bend. He mentioned that he scored two touchdowns in that game. He left out the fact he lost a fumble and the team from the Sunshine State was crushed 42-13.
While the weather is cold in Wisconsin, the Rams have been hot and cold. They’ve gone this far without winning more than two games in a row all season. Now they’re coming off victories over the Cardinals, to finish the regular season 10-6, and the Seahawks, to advance in the playoffs.
The playoffs, against the NFC’s top team at 13-3, would be a funny time for the Rams to win three in a row.
“There’s no better time than to string together a win streak than right now,” McVay said.
He’s got a defense for everything.
The Link LonkJanuary 16, 2021 at 05:51AM
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/01/15/rams-defense-can-send-a-chill-through-the-packers
Rams’ defense can send a chill through the Packers - OCRegister
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