With Woods out, Rams need Austin to finally step up on offense

If the Los Angeles Rams want to knockoff the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Tavon Austin needs to step up for Sean McVay’s offense.

After a tough loss last weekend to the Minnesota Vikings, the Los Angeles Rams will be looking to bounce back in Week 12 with what may be their toughest matchup of the season against the red-hot New Orleans Saints. All hope seemed lost at the beginning of the season when the Saints started off with a 0-2 record, but a lot has changed since those two games, as the team has been one of the hottest in the NFL riding an eight-game winning streak.

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Believe it or not, defense has been the major difference for most of the success New Orleans has seen this year, and even though Los Angeles’ offense has looked like one of the best in the league at times, it will be interesting to see how the unit comes out on Sunday with Robert Woods out of the picture. Unfortunately, Woods is expected to miss a few weeks after suffering a shoulder injury against the Vikings, and while the Rams certainly have plenty of other talented players capable of stepping up, Tavon Austin is the one they need to elevate his game the most.

Last season, Los Angeles made the decision to reward their former first-round pick with a four-year, $42 million extension with the intention Austin would become a touchdown machine after earning 10 total trips into the end zone during the 2015 season. Instead, Austin has made a strong case for being one of the most overpaid players in the league when comparing the money he’s making to his production dating back to last season, but hopefully that could change over these final six games for the Rams since Jared Goff will need some extra help with Woods out of the picture.

Next: 3 predictions for Rams vs. Saints Week 12

Seeing Austin enter Week 12’s game against New Orleans with just seven catches for 43 yards to date to go along with 171 yards with a score is beyond embarrassing for a player making the kind of money Los Angeles is paying him. But with the Rams in desperate need of all the help they can get on offense after seeing how bad the offense looked against the Vikings, this could be the perfect “better late than never” scenario for Austin during the final stretch of the regular season to help secure a playoff spot.