LA Rams must respect Ravens, but have no reason to fear them

The LA Rams travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 17, which is coincidentally the extra game added to NFL schedules this season. It’s a longer season, which has meant more chances to score the winning touchdown, make a game-saving tackle, or change the momentum of the game with a quarterback sack or an interception.

When the LA Rams last faced the Baltimore Ravens, it was 2019. In that game, the Rams were reeling from injuries that decimated the offensive line and defensive secondary. Despite the outbreak of adversity, the Rams entered the Week 12 contest with a record of 6-4 and remained hopeful that a good showing would give them a chance to return to the playoffs again.

But Baltimore had another thought in that game. And by the game’s conclusion, they have shaken the Rams’ confidence to their very core. The final score was 45-6 and was perhaps the most lopsided loss endured in the tenure of Head Coach Sean McVay’s time with the team

Each time the Ravens touched the football in the first half of that game, they scored a touchdown. By the end of the game, the only two offensive series where the Ravens did not score a touchdown resulted in a field goal and one punt.

Rams respect but do not fear, the Ravens

Losing in such a lopsided game is not easy to shake off. Following that loss, the Rams would end the season with a 3-2 record. But the Rams reconstructed the offense to lean heavily upon the 12-personnel configuration. With two tight ends, the Rams were able to run the ball far more dependably. But the team also learned that TE Tyler Higbee could carry the offense, as he put up 522 yards in the month of December 2019.

Even with the changes, the Rams defense would allow 78 points in two consecutive games against the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. At the season’s end, the Rams parted ways with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Head coach Sean McVay took a new and more proactive approach to the defense. And the Rams learned that they needed to do more to compete at that level in the NFL.

This year, it’s the LA Rams who can put the Baltimore Ravens out of their misery. This year it’s the Ravens, not the LA Rams, who are struggling to keep starters on the football field. This time, it’s the Rams, not the Ravens, who are the visiting team who can play the villain and ruin the Ravens season.

The LA Rams lost a game to the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 by the score of 45-6. Coaches and players who suffered that loss have had plenty of time to ponder the best way to respond.  The LA Rams must respect a very dangerous and talented Ravens roster, but have no reason to fear them. This year it’s the Rams who can play spoiler.

Paybacks are hell.