Jacksonville hits the road on Sunday to take on a 7-4 Los Angeles Rams team that boasts the No. 4 passing offense in the NFL, averaging nearly 300 yards per game. And the Jags will have to do it without their top cornerback, as Shaquill Griffin reportedly won’t be traveling with the team to Los Angeles and will miss his second game due to a concussion he suffered in the loss to San Francisco two weeks ago.
That means that for the second week in a row, Nevin Lawson will start while Tyson Campbell will be the No. 1 (if cleared on the injury report). That worked out last week against Atlanta when Campbell had the best game of his rookie season, notching his first career interception and earning a 90.5 grade (and 90.9 grade in coverage) from Pro Football Focus. Lawson, meanwhile, finished tied for second on the team in tackles with six.
However, the cornerback group doesn’t have much depth beyond that pair, and Jacksonville really can’t afford for either to suffer an injury at this point, especially against a team like the Rams. Quarterback Matt Stafford has struggled a bit in recent weeks, but he’s still having a fantastic season overall.
The addition of Stafford this offseason has proven to be a major benefit for receiver Cooper Kupp, who leads the NFL in receiving with 1,237 yards to go with 10 touchdowns. Between Odell Beckham Jr. (who is questionable in this game) and Van Jefferson, this is a very talented receiving corps even without Robert Woods, who was lost for the season with an injury.
Campbell is improving as the season goes on, and last weekend’s performance felt like the culmination of that improvement. But Atlanta’s passing offense isn’t nearly as challenging as Los Angeles’ will be, and this is a big game for Campbell, who likely won’t cover Kupp much, since he mostly lines up in the slot, but will have to slow down Beckham and Jefferson.
Jacksonville has already pulled off one upset of a potential playoff team this year. On Sunday, it will look to earn its second and overcome its futility when playing on the West Coast.
