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5 reasons why LA Rams cannot take Arizona Cardinals lightly

The LA Rams host their NFC West Divisional rivals in Week 6. Unlike past encounters, the Rams need this win to reach .500, which makes this a dangerous game indeed.

By Bret Stuter

LA Rams Sean McVay
LA Rams Sean McVay / Michael Hickey/GettyImages
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LA Rams, Rams News, Rams roster, Rams schedule, Emari Demercado
LA Rams Emari Demercado / Christian Petersen/GettyImages

Reason V: Cardinals offense can move the football

The LA Rams offense has not done a great job of running the football. That in turn has allowed opposing teams to control the game clock, win the Time of Possession battle, wear down a very young Rams defense, and win closely contested games.

The most obvious solution to fix that issue is simply for the Rams to commit to running the football. But since the Rams appear to not be so interested in taking play-calling advice from me, let's try to tackle the issue from the other side of the football. How well can the LA Rams defense shut down the Arizona Cardinals offense?

The Cardinals can move the football down the field. They average 329 yards per game, which settles in at 15th best in the NFL this season. They are not exactly dangerous in the passing game, but even 185.2 yards per average game can be enough depending on how the Rams offense performs. But statistically speaking, the Cardinals passing game is no better than the 29th passing offense in the NFL.

Rams cannot let Cardinals run away in this one

Where the Cardinals excel is the running attack, which averages 143.2 yards per game, good enough to be the sixth best rushing offense in the NFL. The matter becomes a bit more complicated with the recent injury to Cardinals featured running back James Conner, who injured his knee and is out for this one.

The Cardinals are not solely facing bad news, as they appear to be counting on two running backs to take up the slack. The Cardinals have RB Emari Demercado ready to go, and have upgraded Keaontay Ingram in anticipation of Week 6.

The Rams will have to do something that they have struggled to do so far this season, and that is stop the run. The Rams allow 120.6 yards per game, which is no better than 20th against the run in the NFL. It doesn't take a a PhD in statistical analysis to anticipate the Cardinals offense running with the football in Week 6. The Cardinals play distribution has been 155 passes and 131 runs this season.

The Rams will be hard pressed to control the game clock in Week 6.

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