The LA Rams must exorcise Lambeau Field demons this season

The LA Rams will travel to face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field for the third time in less than two years. It’s an oddity of the NFL schedulers, a purely arbitrary assigning of teams to face one another, sorting through the contests that must be played each season, and then sorting them on an NFL weekly basis.

While it seems strangely odd is not the fact that the LA Rams face the Green Bay Packers on the road for the third time in two years, but rather that the contests all occur in the colder months of the year, when the Packers have a definite advantage over the warmer weather Rams team.

The series began with the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, a game where the LA Rams limped into Lambeau Field and were defeated by a healthy and rested Packers team. That was the game where defensive lineman Aaron Donald played with a busted rib, and quarterback Jared Goff played with a busted thumb on his throwing hand.

It was a game that LA Rams fans will not soon forget.  After the game ended, the cameras panned to Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, distraught over the fact that the Rams did not win. While it seemed to be one of the darkest moments in the LA Rams season, it would trigger the entire organization to respond as no team had before.

Second verse? Same as the first

The Rams would regroup, restock the roster, and return to take on the Green Bay Packers in the 2021 NFL season. While it was less than a year since the two teams had competed, the Rams were hopeful for a different outcome. The reason? The LA Rams were coming out of their BYE week, the Packers were playing their last game before their BYE, and the Rams were desperate to shake free from a two-game losing streak.

The outcome of this one? The LA Rams lost their third consecutive game, this time to the home team Green Bay Packers by a score of 36-28. The loss dropped the suddenly tumbling Rams to a record of 7-4.

Okay, so when does this story get good? Well, here we go. After this loss, the Rams promoted RB Sony Michel, swapping out an injured Brian Allen for a healthy Coleman Shelton at center, activated Brandon Powell to electrify their return game on special teams, and leaned more heavily upon ILB Ernest Jones to solidify the center of the defense.

The Rams would go on to win nine of their final ten games.

The Rams’ schedule will put the team on the road to face the Packers once more, this time on Monday Night Football in Week 15. Not only will that game be played on one of the shortest days of the year, but it will be played under the cold chilling stars of Green Bay Wisconsin. Pack a sweater, folks!

It feels fairly clear that this game will have tremendous playoff repercussions for both teams. But perhaps the greater pressure will be on the LA Rams to break their two-game losing streak to the Packers. The Rams still need to bolster their rushing offense for this one, but the team seems to be well suited for defending in the bitter cold with the addition of both DB Troy Hill and All-Pro ILB Bobby Wagner.

To dominate the NFC, the LA Rams must win this game. We know how quickly losing streaks become headlines in the NFL, and how quickly headlines become narratives. Is the third time a charm? Let’s hope so.