By The Numbers: Stats That Will Matter In St. Louis Rams Vs. Green Bay Packers In Week 7

Oct 14, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) warms up against the Houston Texans before the game at Reliant Stadium. The Packers won 42-24. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE

Tomorrow the St. Louis Rams will host the Green Bay Packer in hopes to poking their head back above the .500 mark for the second time this season. With the Seattle Seahawks loss on Sunday, and the deterioration of the Arizona Cardinals, a win could set them up in great position to challenge the rest of the NFC West for a playoff spot in January. This season, neither the Packers or Rams have had success playing outside of the division in the NFC. However, someone will have to break that streak Sunday. Here are the some statistics that will play a huge role in the game…

177.6

Passing yards per game, over the last three games, that the St. Louis Rams defense has give up to opposing quarterbacks. In addition to allowing under 200 yards per game, they have only allowed 2 passing touchdowns over the last three games, and only 4 passing touchdowns the entire season.

100.0

St. Louis Rams win percentage  in the Edward Jones Dome this season. Counting Bradford’s last full season with the Rams (2010), he has a  8-3 record when playing in St. Louis. The Rams have not been blacked out once this season, meaning that the dome is finally getting some fans in the seats. In fact, the hashtag #PackTheDome has been trending on Twitter each home game this season.

105.4

Highest quarterback rating in the NFL, which just so happens to belong to Aaron Rodgers. However, he was held below a 95.0 rating his first three games of the season. Those low rated games just so happened to be against 3 of the top 6 defenses in terms of points allowed in the NFL. His highest ratings have come against the Indianapolis Colts (24th), New Orleans Saints (26th), and Houston Texans (9th).

56

Penalties on the Green Bay defense, which is the the most in the NFL, leading to 490 yards against the team. The next closest team is the Cleveland Browns, who have 49 penalties for 414 yards.

37

Total rushes by Alex Green, the Green Bay running back replacing the injured Cedric Benson, in his entire career. He had only 3 attempts all of  last season, and has 34 rushes this season for 130 yards, which is good for 3.8 yards per carry. Not counting the Rams starter Steven Jackson, backup running back Daryl Richardson has rushed the ball 47 times for 246 yards, good for 5.2 yard per carry (5th in the NFL). Green’s yards per rush attempt will likely not increase against a stingy Rams defense, especially considering he is listed as “questionable” after being limited in practice all week.

23

Minimum number of receptions by each of the four leading receivers on the Green Bay Packers:

1. Jordy Nelson is leading with team with 32 receptions for 410 yards, including 5 catches for 20+ yards, and 4 touchdowns
2. Randall Cobb has 29 receptions for 346 yard, including 5 catches for 20+ yards, and 1 touchdowns (166 of those 346 yards were gained after the catch)
3. James Jones has 23 receptions for 270 yards, including 3 for 20+ yards, and 7 touchdowns
4. Jermichael Finley has 24 receptions for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns (listed as “questionable” on injury report)

20

Number of receptions by the Rams leading active receiver on the team, not counting Danny Amendola (32 receptions, 395 yards) who will likely be out for the next 2-3 weeks. After Brandon Gibson (20 receptions, 275 yards, 2 touchdowns), the next three leading receivers are Chris Givens (7 receptions, 197 yards, 1 touchdown), Lance Kendricks (14 receptions, 128 yards, 1 touchdown), and Steve Smith (7 receptions, 88 yards).

10

Passing touchdowns allowed by the Green Bay Packers defense this season. That amount is tied for the 21st mark in the league, along with the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders.

5.3 

Average number of times that Aaron Rodgers has been sacks in Green Bay Packers three losses this season. In the Packs’ three wins, he was only sacked an average of 2.3 times. The St. Louis Rams are averaging 3 sacks per game this season, but have averaged 4.6 sacks in the last three games, including 9 takedowns against the Arizona Cardinals.

5 

Field goals by the Green Bay Packers this season, which is 30th in the league. Worse, even though they have take only a handful of attempts, they have are only hitting 71.4% of their kicks, which is also 30th in the league.

Five is also the number of player on the Green Bay defense with at least one interception this season. Alternatively, the St. Louis Rams have six player with at least one interception, including Cortland Finnegan who has three on the season, one that was returned for a touchdown.

4

Number of starters on the Green Bay defense that will not be in the game on Sunday, including DT B.J. Raji, CB Sam Shields, and LB Nick Perry. They will be without 3 of their top 10 tacklers, including D.J. Smith, who was just placed in IR for the rest of the season. That means four players responsible for 20.2% of the teams total tackles, including special teams and offensive player tackles, will not be on the field against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

 3

Total touchdowns allowed by the St. Louis Rams in the last three games, two of which came in one game against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. There are also 3 players on the St. Louis Rams with at least 3 sacks this season (Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Chris Long, and Robert Quinn). There is only one player on the Green Bay Packers with 3 or more sacks, Clay Matthews.

+3 is also the touchdown to interception differential in the Green Bay Packers three losses this season, with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The Pack has a +9 differential in their wins, with 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

2

Losses to the NFC North by the St. Louis Rams, coming against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 and Chicago Bears in Week 3. In fact, all of the St. Louis Rams losses have come to teams outside of the extremely competitive NFC West. Two is also the number of losses to the NFC West by the Green Bay Packer, coming from the San Francisco 49er in Week 1 and Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.

Two is also the number of combined touchdown passes thrown by the punters of the Rams and Packers, Tim Masthay and Johnny Hekker.