LA Rams game day primer: NFL Playoffs Divisional Round shocker

Rams defense will dictate the outcome in this one.

The LA Rams may not be favored in this one, but even a sixth-seeded team with the Top-Ranked defense in the NFL has a strong chance here. After all, it’s not the first team to 45 points, but merely the team with the most points that wins. The Rams can win by just two points if they record a safety on the Green Bay Packers, and shut down the Packers offense the entire game.

While an extreme example, it merely serves to demonstrate just how critical a strong defense can be in a playoff game. The Packers played five games this season against the NFL’s bottom five defenses. They played against just three of the Top-Ten ranked defenses in 2020. Their record when facing stiff competition? They won just one of three games, and that 37-30 victory against the New Orleans Saints was fueled by a late fumble recovery to set up a go-ahead field goal.

The Packers’ two losses came at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was the Buccaneers who were a defensive nightmare for the Packers, holding Green Bay’s offense to just 10 points, their lowest scoring total of the season.

Who has the edge?

The LA Rams won the last meeting between these two teams in 2018 in Los Angeles by the score of 29-27. I’ve seen some references to that game with the added commentary that the Rams are worse, the Packers are better, and this game is at Lambeau. That’s funny. The teams are vastly different from that contest.  This season, a relatively unchallenged Green Bay Packers won the NFC Top-seed but managed to lose to two NFL Playoff teams along the way: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts.

Like the Bucs and Colts, the Rams are a playoff team that has a very stingy defense and enough offense to be a very challenging opponent. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is 0-4 in his last four starts when facing a top-ranked defense. Much like the Seattle Seahawks last week, the pressure is more upon the Packers due to the expectation by so many that they win. With so few eyes upon the Rams, they may shock the NFL once mroe.