St. Louis Rams Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 5 Bold Predictions

In an attempt to find some ritualistic way to help the St. Louis Rams succeed, we at Ramblin’ Fan tried not to jinx the squad on Thursday Night Football by throwing unnecessary bold predictions on them before the game started.If the BudLight commercials have taught me anything, it would be that “it’s only crazy if it doesn’t work.” Well, it didn’t, and here we are with our newest segment of bold predictions. In celebration of our lucky matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, these will be our “boldest guesstimations” yet! Enjoy…

1. The St. Louis Rams will NOT be trailing at halftime

So far this season the St. Louis Rams have never held a lead going into the lockerroom at the half. Against the Cardinals, the score was tied at 10-10, and they have trailed by an average of 16.3 points in their last three games. There is not much to support this particular prediction, with the Rams having scored only three total points so far this season in the 1st quarter. However, with 10-days’ rest, some changes in the offensive backfield, and the growing hunger from some of the Rams’ young offensive skill players, this could certainly be a day for a breakout.

2. Robert Quinn will re-take the lead for the Deacon Jones Award

Currently, Quinn sits in 4th place in the “sack race,” trailing three players that have already amassed 7.5 sacks. Of those, Mario Williams has already played this week, Robert Mathis will face off against the unsackable Russell Wilson, and Justin Houston will matchup against a surprisingly stout Tennessee offense. In order to take the lead, Robert Quinn will need, at least, three sacks against Blaine Gabbert. Luckily for the Rams’ young pass rusher, the Jaguars’ offensive line has already allowed 17 sacks through the first four games, and just moved Luke Joeckel to the blindside, after playing him at right tackle all season. Things could get messy in the Jacksonville backfield today.

3. The St. Louis “running back-by-committee” will gain 150 yards on the ground

Every week, the St. Louis Rams purportedly reassess their use of the running game. However, each week, the Rams continue to abandon the ground game early, typically ending the night with fewer than 20 rushing attempts. This week, they made a drastic change, starting Zac Stacy over Daryl Richardson, and promising to get all “active” players some carries during the game. The Jacksonville Jaguars are ranked dead last against the run. If they can’t top 150 yards this week, then they never will…

4. Sam Bradford will have the best offensive stat line of any quarterback the NFL

Yes, I know that Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are not on their bye weeks yet. Sam Bradford has some of the best “on paper” numbers in the NFL, ranking 10th in passing yards, sporting a +4 touchdown-to-interception differential, and dawning a 74% adjusted completion percentage. This week, he’ll play against the worst overall defense in the NFL, one that will be without one of their starting safeties and one of the their starting cornerbacks. There is not a single player in the Jacksonville back-seven that can matchup against Jared Cook… or Chris Givens… or Tavon Austin. In fact, this could end up being the best statistical day of Sam Bradford’s career; or the most disappointing.

5. Janoris Jenkins will get his first pick-6 of the season

The Henne-Gabbert combination has already thrown seven interceptions this season, and including five by Gabbert in only two regular season games. If Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams offense do their job, the Jacksonville Jaguars should be playing catch-up for most of the game. In all likelihood, Janoris Jenkins will be shadowing Justin Blackmon all game. When Gabbart goes in to desperation-mode, he will undoubtedly lock-on to this “safety blanket,” which should give Jenkins a couple of shots at an interception. However, the Jaguars’ offense has had a lot of experience this season tackling defensive backs after interceptions… so, that might make things a little more difficult.