Los Angeles Rams: Week 16 against the Cardinals will tell fans a lot

The Los Angeles Rams get as close to a layup as you can get, when they play a down and out Arizona Cardinals team in Glendale.

Week 16, yes 16, may bring to fans of the Los Angeles Rams just what is needed to have a very Merry Christmas. Enter NFC West rival and cellar-dweller, the Arizona Cardinals.

At 3-11, the Cardinals will host an 11-3 Rams team who is going to be desperate for a win. After a two game skid that has a franchise once thought to be a near Super Bowl lock reeling, a trip to the desert to play a team with zero identity and a rookie quarterback going through rookie QB woes could be just what LA needs.

It will also say a lot about where the Rams are as a team.

After a full day of digesting a wide sampling of NFL Monday morning quarterbacks via sports talk radio, sports talk on TV, and every option on social media, the most common themes are quarterback Jared Goff and a team full of stars but not much quality depth.

With a now gimpy Todd Gurley, Goff is now left to carry and potentially win a game. After losses to the Chicago Bears on the road, and a beat up Philadelphia Eagles in the Coliseum, a legitimate question is whether Goff is capable of doing just that.

Rams head coach Sean McVay is also feeling some heat. Los Angeles hasn’t faced any real adversity in his two years until now, and how this team responds will say a lot about an organization that has looked to be a new model of how to do business in the NFL.

Beating a team like the Cardinals will also say a lot. A convincing win probably settles some choppy waters with the team and a fan base who has become increasingly intolerant on social media. One imagines anything less than a blow out keeps alive a perception that the team is in trouble and won’t fare well come playoff time.

A loss at Arizona would be a significant indicator that the team who entered their bye week at 11-1, has something drastically wrong with it. Beating the Cardinals may not necessarily right the ship completely, but it could give a boost to a team who’s lost some swag and probably a bit of confidence, especially offensively.