LA Rams game day primer: Unleash DT Donald upon QB Wilson

LA Rams’ game-day finds the 6-2 Seahawks arriving to face the 5-3 Rams in a 2020 version of a heated NFC West rivalry

The LA Rams have won just games this season, four against teams from the NFC East, and one from the spiraling downwards Chicago Bears. The team had three chances to change that, with ball three occasions being difficult road trips.

The first opportunity found the Rams losing a heartbreaker on the road against the Buffalo Bills, 34-31. The second opportunity was a disappointing road loss to the rival San Francisco 49ers, 24-16, where the offense never seemed to get on track. The third time felt like an ambush on the beaches of Miami, where the Dolphins defense and special teams played so effectively, they never really needed the Miami offense to win.

The Sunday afternoon weather is currently forecast to be mostly sunny by day, with a crescent moon and pleasant temperatures due to clear skies by evening into nighttime. After a daytime high in the mid-’70s, the temperature will fall quickly to a daytime high of the mid 50’s and light winds will persist from the north in the range of 5 to 10 mph.

High scoring game?

The LA Rams will need to get their offense unlocked in this one. The Seattle Seahawks do not pretend to have the defensive side of the ball figured out. So that offense enters each game believing that they need to score 40 or more points. The curious thing is, they usually do score whenever they want to. One thing that gives the LA Rams an advantage? The Seattle Seahawks have never faced a defense as good as that of the Rams so far. In fact, the Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald plays so well against the Seahawks that he was given a designation as ‘Team-killer’ in 2019. He should earn that designation once more in this one.

LA Rams head coach Sean McVay has no doubt put in extra hours to cook up a fix some answers. After all, he was outcoached twice in the past three games. It seemed that when the defense ramped up, the Rams panicked and went with what was more familiar than what was working.  Can he return to innovation?

There is no try

Will the Rams offense shake off their recent malaise and put up serious points on the scoreboard? Or will this one come down to a contest of wills, the Rams defense as the immovable object, against the Seahawks offense as the irresistible force? This is a must-win for the LA Rams, in every sense of the word. This is the one game in the schedule where the Rams must do.  This is a Do-or-do-not-there-is-no-try game.

Which means that the LA Rams offense will play well. With the Seahawks offense scoring almost seemingly at will, you can bet the whiz-kids offense led by Sean McVay with offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell will have some surprises in store. After all, the Rams are way overdue to employ their two tight-end offensive sets as expected, and the Rams have yet to entrust rookie running back Cam Akers with a strong number of snaps.

Unfamiliar territory

For that matter, the Rams have yet to give rookie wide receiver Van Jefferson any kind of chance to carve out an impact in this high octane but sputtering-offense as well. This should be the game where the Rams bring every offensive weapon, trick, disguise, and out-of-the-box concept to bear. We expect a high scoring contest as a result.

I expect the Seahawks will do things a bit differently on their offense as well.

Will this game change the NFC West dynamics?

The Rams have felt like a contender this year, all year, but they have yet to prove that they are deserving of mention in any NFL Playoff discussions. The moment that the Rams seem to get close, they lose a game and tumble further down the playoff berth projections. No matter how hard these LA Rams have tried so far this season, they seem to be tethered to that seventh NFC Playoff berth. If they rise above it, they lose and tumble back.

This weekend’s game changes that. If the Rams win, the team will rise to a tie for the lead in the NFC West division. The Rams would win three tiebreakers over the Seattle Seahawks, the head-to-head competition, the division record, and the conference records. The Arizona Cardinals could claim a piece of the NFC West lead, but to do so they must defeat a rather formidable Buffalo Bills at home. If the Cardinals do win, they would win the pre-playoff berth tiebreaker due to a 2-0 division record so far.

SEA Seahawks – LA Rams, what are the odds?

The books for the Seattle Seahawks versus the LA Rams game opened with the LA Rams as 2.0 point favorites. But the Rams offensive struggles and the Seahawks insanely productive offense has eroded the line to just 1.5 points as of Thursday, November 12. Home teams typically are awarded a standard 3.0 points to reflect the familiarity with the stadium and their familiarity of the surroundings. This line, while still favoring the Rams, shows deep respect for the Seahawks.

So far, almost all of the money is jumping to the Seahawks in this one, which is why the odds are leveling off.  Of course, odds can change before the opening kickoff, so be sure to check occasionally with the ACTION APP. Even if you do not bet, this application is great for giving the status of games, scores, and other relevant information.

SEA Seahawks – LA Rams game time details:

Date: Sunday, November 15, 2020
Time: 1:25 pm PT
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA

What TV channel is the SEA Seahawks – LA Rams game on?
The game is the second televised broadcast of the day and will be broadcast by Fox Sports.

Watch NFL Football for FREE on fuboTV: Watch over 180+ live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

How can I watch the SEA Seahawks – LA Rams game online?
You can stream the Sunday game on any number of streaming options by checking out the FoxSports.com website or the NFL App. Other streaming options can be found at SportingNews.com.

How will the SEA Seahawks – LA Rams game be broadcast over the radio?
You can catch the Rams on KSPN (710 AM) and KCBS-FM (93.1 FM). Other radio stations carry the Rams throughout the California listening area. You can also tune in via the internet by checking out Tunein.com/Los-Angeles-Rams. For a comprehensive list of affiliate radio stations, you can check out the team website here for a full list.

Injury reports: The official injury list for the Seattle Seahawks is here.

LA Rams: OT Chandler Brewer has opted out for this season. LB Travin Howard and DB Terrell Burgess are out for the remainder of the 2020 season. LG Joseph Noteboom as well as safety Jordan Fuller have been assigned to the Reserve/Designated to return roster. That leaves just OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo on the Injured Reserve roster.  NT A’Shawn Robinson has been activated to the 53-man roster.  The Rams currently have 51 players on their 53 man roster, so they can activate both Fuller and Noteboom with no further transactions.

Seattle Seahawks: The player injury report for the Seattle Seahawks can be found here.

Player Injury Status Game Status
The status of players for this weekend’s game has changed rapidly. The LA Rams have activated Jordan Fuller and Joseph Noteboom. The Seattle Seahawks have downgraded seven players to out, including starting C Ethan Pocic, CBs Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar, RBs Carlos Hyde, and Chris Carson, DT Bryan Mone, and DE Benson Mayowa.

How do I enjoy football this year with no stadium?

With another week of NFL Football, don’t be satisfied with just pizza delivery and watching the game from the comfort of your living room sofa. Change things up a bit.

I How to tailgate for game day,
II How to set up your living room to watch the game,
III How to get a SoFi experience in your own home.

Be sure to check us out on the game day on Twitter: Ramblin Fan, and on our Facebook Page for pregame and post-game analysis.

In the meantime, the Rams are getting set for a playoff run after their midseason bye week. This is only the team’s fourth home game. So far, they have held up to win at home on all three previous occasions.