The Los Angeles Rams’ season could ride on Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. They desperately need a win – and a signature one, at that – and none would be bigger than beating the red-hot Ravens.
Containing Lamar Jackson will be priority No. 1, but there will be several other matchups within the game that could decide the outcome.
Here are the four biggest matchups to watch in Week 12.
Cory Littleton vs. Lamar Jackson
It’ll take a complete team effort to slow down Jackson, but a lot of the responsibility falls on Littleton. He’ll likely be asked to spy Jackson, as will Taylor Rapp and maybe even a cornerback like Nickell Robey-Coleman. Littleton’s role in this game will be huge when it comes to stopping the run, which is a staple of Baltimore’s offense, of course.
Few players in the NFL have the speed to keep up with Jackson, but Littleton’s instincts and anticipation can help limit the big plays made by the electric quarterback. Making the correct read on zone reads is also critical, and could be the difference in a 20-yard gain or one for 5 yards.
Rams safeties vs. Ravens tight ends
Mark Andrews has been Jackson’s favorite target this season, catching a team-high 48 passes for 598 yards and six touchdowns. The Ravens also have Nick Boyle and Hayden Hurst who are threats as receivers, which will put a lot of pressure on the Rams’ safeties. Fortunately, Los Angeles has three very talented ones in Eric Weddle, Taylor Rapp and Marqui Christian.
Weddle will mostly line up as the deep safety, but Rapp and Christian will be tasked with covering the tight ends more often than not. If the Rams can limit the production out of Andrews and Boyle, it will go a long way toward slowing the Ravens offense – especially on third downs and red zone situations.
Andrews, in particular, is athletic and fast enough to stretch a defense down the seam, making him a tough player to match up with.
Bobby Evans vs. Matt Judon
Judon is the Ravens’ top edge rusher and will primarily play on the strong side. The Rams gave Evans a lot of help last week against Khalil Mack with Tyler Higbee and Johnny Mundt chipping him at the line, but that may not be as necessary Monday night.
Expect Evans to get left on an island more frequently against Judon, which will allow the tight ends to be more involved as receivers. Judon is hardly a prolific edge rusher, but Evans hasn’t exactly shown he’s capable of winning reps one-on-one.
The Rams’ run-heavy approach worked against the Bears because they committed to using two tight ends, but if they want to get back to their more explosive version of the offense, Evans will need to step up.
Brandin Cooks vs. Marcus Peters
The Ravens move their cornerbacks around about as much as the Rams move their receivers, so there will be a lot of different matchups on Monday night. One of the biggest is between Cooks and Peters, who have faced each other plenty in the past in practice. They know each other’s game well, and for the Rams, that means understanding Peters is a gambler.
Expect Cooks and the other receivers to throw double-moves at him during Monday’s game, faking underneath routes before breaking downfield. Peters has played a lot of zone coverage for the Ravens, so it won’t be as easy to connect on such plays, but expect Cooks to utilize some of the known tendencies of Peters to his advantage.
