Week 17 will prove to be the make or break game for the Rams young pass rush

Revenge? Or simply avoiding getting swept?

In terms of the Rams record against their NFC West Division rivals, the Rams are 3-1. That includes sweeping the San Francisco 49ers, defeating the Seattle Seahawks in their only head-to-head matchup, and a loss to the Cardinals. So, Week 17 can be view as a revenge game between division rivals.

Or if you are less skeptical about the Rams chances, or a fan of the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks, or of an NFC South Division playoff contender, you may view the Rams as simply attempting to avoid being swept by the Cardinals.

Of course, the dynamics of this Week 17 game have flipped entirely from Week 2. In this game, it's the Cardinals who face injuries to both offense tackles. And the Rams defense has been stingy of late, allowing just 31 points in the past two games combined:

The proverbial shoe is on the other foot now.

But before you feel too much sympathy and compassion, know this. The Arizona Cardinals throttled the LA Rams in Week 2 by a score of 41-10. In that game, the Rams had only just reinstated RT Rob Havenstein, and the team played without LT Alaric Jackson, wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and starting TE Alaric Jackson. The secondary started DB Tre White, a veteran who would be traded for nothing at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline to the Baltimore Ravens because he simply was not the same defensive back.

The Rams energetic pass rush, once a hot strength of the defense, has cooled of late. The Rams have recorded 32 quarterback sacks in 15 games to fall to 25th-place in the NFL. At one point, the same pass rush appeared to be on its way to vie for a top-10 ranking. If the team is to earn a berth in the NFL Playoffs, and find any success once there, they must seize an opportunity to terrorize quarterbacks once more.

Sacking quarterbacks is not the only thing this team, or this defense, must do well. And the gap between a 25th-ranked pass rush and a top-10 pass rush in Week 17 is seven quarterback sacks. But competition will rise rapidly now for the team, so this is truly it, makie to mistake where they are.

As always, thanks for reading.

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