Rams vs Jets in Week 16 may be the last time these elite QBs clash

If you wanted to have an excuse for the LA Rams to sit up and not let their guard down against the New York Jets in Week 16, you are in luck. If they do, it's all on them. You seem despite the Jets' elimination from any postseason competition, they remain a force to be reckoned with. As if to prove my point, the Jets walloped the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15 by a score of 32-25. They trailed the Jaguars on the road by a score of 13-7 have halftime.

The Jets chemistry between veteran WR Davante Adams and QB Aaron Rodgers was on full display, as the pair connected on nine of 12 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Jets WR Garrett Wilson hauled in three of six passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. And even Jets RB Breece Hall got into the act, carrying nine times for 30 yards, while catching both passes thrown his way for 21 yards.

In a game playing for pride itself, the Jets veterans proved to themselves and to the NFL fans at large that they are not a team to be trifled with. And I hope the LA Rams' entire football team noticed. After all, had the Jets lost their Week 15 to the Jaguars, how easily would the Rams players consider them a true threat in Week 16?

A similar scenario aligned in 2020. The Rams were 9-4, and were riding a wave of success, thanks to a two-game winning streak and winning four out of five games after their Week 9 BYE. The lowly Jets limped into SoFi Stadium with a record of 0-13, with nothing to play for except pride. Led by a much younger Sam Darnold at quarterback, the Jets shocked the Rams by winning with a score of 23-20.

But that game carried even more dire consequences. The Jets proved to the NFL that the way to defeat the Rams and their top-ranked defense was simply to attack the middle of the football field. THe Rams had invested next to nothing in the inside linebacker position under then-DC Brandon Staley, and the Jets ran and passed at the heart of the defense for the win.

The Green Bay Packers, led by then-quarterback Aaron Rodgers, doubled down on that strategy in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs for a victory that eliminated the Rams from advancing.