LA Rams Wildcard Weekend: Which Rams player has most 'villain' potential?

II Kyren Williams - T-1000 (Terminator 2)

LA Rams running back Kyren Williams may not be the most powerful or frightening villain candidate on the Rams roster, but he is just as deadly to the dreams of the Detroit Lions. Williams is a deceptive and powerful assassin in the hopes of the opponent claiming victory, much like the shape-shifting android, T-1000, in Terminator 2.

Like the T-1000, Williams can run nearly as fast as an automobile in city traffic. Much like a T-1000, Williams is almost impossible to stop until he has reached the end zone. And it's that ability to redirect, redeploy, and resume his assault that makes him so very dangerous to the Detroit Lions today.

"That terminator is out there. It cannot be bargained with. It cannot be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead"

- Kyle Reese

Kyren Williams may not be the biggest or strongest running back in the NFL. Still, he harbors many of the most dangerous qualities of a Terminator from the nightmarish future made by Skynet/Genisys. Williams ran 228 times in just 12 games for the LA Rams in 2023 but managed to run for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns (that averages out to a touchdown per game). He also caught 32 of 48 passes thrown his way for another 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Williams is impossible to stop until he has vanquished all hope of victory by the opposing team. If that's not a Terminator, I don't know what is.

I: Matthew Stafford: Thanos

When it comes to a master villain, who better than LA Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford? He is not just any old villain. His villainy is that of a master betrayal, the one who sought to fix the universe around him by destroying the universe of so many others.

Matthew Stafford cannot come as a surprise as anyone. From the moment that the Detroit Lions agreed to trade him to an NFC team, the Lions front office has to realize that, sooner or later, their path to success in the NFL Playoffs, if the Lions ever got there, would have to run to and through the Matthew Stafford-led LA Rams.

It was inevitable.

"I am inevitable"

- Thanos

Stafford has missed two games in the 2023 NFL season. But he has completed 326 of 521 passes for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. He has been sacked 30 times for a loss of 205 yards this season. Best of all, he has authored one fourth-quarter comeback and two game-winning drives this season.

Stafford is not a player who can be rattled or who fears the big stage in the NFL. Truth be told, he lives for those moments, And much like the arch-villain Thanos, he possess the Soul Stone that allows him to steal somebody's soul by coming back to claim a victory from his opponent.

Stafford is clearly fully embracing his villainous role in facing his former team, the Detroit Lions, in the Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs. And his ability to reshape reality, turn back time in his career to resemble Prime Time Matthew Stafford, power his way through a game, and steal the souls of his opponent, align his as the ideal Thanos on the Rams roster.

The NFL Playoffs are meant to be fun. In that light, we wanted to deliver an article on game day that not only reminds Rams fans of who their best players are on the team, but who has the most likely chance of spoiling the Lions' debut in postseason competition after a 30+ year absence.

In two playoff games, the home team has won both games. Let's hope that the LA Rams can spoil that trend