LA Rams offense is key to defense’s Super Bowl performance

NFC Wildcard Game

Perhaps no singular game exemplifies this strategy than the LA Rams NFC Wildcard Round against the Arizona Cardinals. In two regular-season games, the Rams split the outcomes with their NFC West Division Rival. Each team had won the game on the other’s football field. In the first game, it was a surprising Cardinals offense that ran the football at will and converted Rams turnovers into points. The final score was Cardinals 37, Rams 20. But what about the TOP?  That also was hugely in the Cardinals’ favor by a ratio of 35:10 Cards to 24:50 Rams.

Round Two of this matchup occurred on Week 14. In this one, the Cardinals had a slight edge with their rushing attack, but the Rams held to a football more. After entering halftime tied, the Rams came out and put up the first 14 points in the second half. The Rams, although shorthanded, won the game by a score of Rams 30, Cardinals 23. The same two teams, but this time the TOP fell into the LA Rams favor. The Rams held the football for 30:56, while the Cardinals held possession for 29:04.

Rams win TOP = Rams win

Round Three, and the Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs, pitted the Cardinals against the Rams once more. In this one, however, the Rams more than doubled the Cardinals rushing offense. With an effective and reliable ground assault, the offense was more than capable of picking their spots through the air. This one was never close, as the Rams put up 21 unanswered points on the Cards. The final score showed how the Rams dominated the Rams, winning by a score of Rams 34 Cardinals 11.

By the score, you might expect that the Rams had a huge advantage with the TOP. Well, you would be correct. The Rams held the football for 35:46, while the Cardinals held the football for just 24:14.  Are we onto something yet? Let’s press on.