Marquise Brown mayhem: How can the LA Rams win at Cards Part II

While the LA Rams (4-6) have been successful of late against the Arizona Cardinals (2-9), the Rams are not as successful this year as the team has been in the past. That could pose any number of problems as foes try to settle old scores with the Rams this year. One such opponent whom the Rams have certainly gotten the best of in recent years is the Arizona Cardinals.

One such offensive weapon on the Cardinals roster is wide receiver Marquise Brown. In the first meeting this season, the Rams held the Cardinals' offense in check, but in 2022, Brown lit up the Rams' secondary, catching 14 of 17 passes for 140 yards. With the Cardinals seeking a third win of the 2023 NFL season, Brown will surely be a top target of the Cardinals passing game once more.

Why is WR Marquise Brown such a threat?

Brown was acquired by the Cardinals from the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. That trade afforded the Cardinals offense a young and productive receiver in the Cardinals offense, and allows the Cards to threaten secondaries that try to load up the box with eight defenders in hopes to stop RB James Conner and mobile QB Kyler Murray.

Brown is a productive, if not dominating, veteran NFL wide receiver who can test the back of any NFL secondary throughout an entire game. Just when the defense believes he has been neutralized, he can make a catch for significant yards, and change the entire complexion of the contest. He has burned the LA Rams defensive backs once since joining the Arizona Cardinals. No doubt he wants to pile up the yardage once more.

How can the Rams neutralize him in Week 12?

The book on Marquise Brown is relatively well known throughout the NFL by now. If you let him run his routes unchecked, he will catch a lot of passes for a lot of yards. So, the trick to grounding him is to jam him as he tries to begin his routes.

In their matchup earlier in the year, the Rams were able to neutralize Brown rather effectively, holding him to just four catches of 11 targets for 34 yards and no touchdowns. Of course, he was catching the passes from quarterback Joshua Dobbs, which may have unsettled his concentration a bit as well.

Brown has not been a significant weapon for the Cardinals in recent weeks. In three games in the month of November 2023, he is averaging two catches from 6 targets for 23 yards. But that is no reason for the Rams to take him lightly in Week 12.