Facing Blaine Gabbert in Week 13 should work to advantage of Rams’ defense

With the Arizona Cardinals dealing with injuries at quarterback, the Los Angeles Rams will face Blaine Gabbert in Week 13.

Back in October, the Los Angeles Rams had little trouble facing the Arizona Cardinals in London on their way to an impressive 33-0 shutout, and with another meeting scheduled for Sunday, Sean McVay‘s squad would absolutely love a season sweep of their division rivals to remain on top of the NFC West ahead of the Seattle Seahawks. However, the circumstances will be much different for the Cardinals this time around against the Rams, especially when it comes to their current situation at quarterback.

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During that game in London, Carson Palmer was forced to leave for Arizona after suffering a broken arm, which is part of the reason why the team failed to score a single point against Los Angeles since Drew Stanton was unable to make an impact under center. This time around, Stanton will actually serve as the backup to Blaine Gabbert when facing the Rams on Sunday, and after seeing the way he looked in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the former first-round pick certainly deserves the opportunity to start.

Believe it or not, the Cardinals are still in the hunt for one of the playoff spots in the NFC with a 5-6 record heading into Sunday’s game against the Rams, although earning a trip would seem like an absolute long shot at this point when seeing how the NFC is shaping out to be. As for whether Gabbert will be able to find similar success to last weekend when Arizona faced Jacksonville, well that’s a completely different story since Los Angeles’ defense is coming off a strong performance of their own against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

Next: 3 storylines for Rams at Cardinals Week 13

Stopping the run may have been an issue at times against the Saints, but for the most part, Aaron Donald and the Rams’ defense deserves plenty of credit for the constant pressure applied towards Brees at quarterback. Assuming Wade Phillips‘ unit picks up right where they left off a week ago, a matchup against a third-string quarterback in Gabbert should work to the advantage of Los Angeles, as they look to improve their record to 9-3 before an epic showdown the following weekend against the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles.