Raiders-Rams Week 7: In battle of cellar dwellers, the team that turns the ball over likely loses

Los Angeles Rams struggling with injuries, ineffectiveness just like Las Vegas

In the battle of the West cellar dwellers, the team that turns the ball over is likely going to lose.

That’s tale of the tape for the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams when the AFC West and NFC West foes matchup this Sunday in SoFi Stadium.

The 2-4 Raiders hit the road looking to get a much-needed victory while the 1-4 Rams are back in action after an early-season bye week. It may be a battle of the bad, but one of these teams is going to walk away the victor (unless it ends in a tie). And determining which squad gets the win and this has push potential in terms of picking the winner.

Both teams head into this Week 7 contest as banged up as an NFL team can get. That doesn’t help either squad’s attempts to climb out of the last place in its respective divisions, but the games go on.

With the overall records, it’s no surprise to see Las Vegas and Los Angeles in the bottom rung of league rankings in terms of offense and defense.

The Raiders bring with them the 27th-ranked and 28th-ranked offense in terms of points scored and yards gained at 109 and 1,760, respectively. The defense ranks 27th and 12th in points allowed and yards yielded at 163 and 1,959 in those categories. The Rams boast the 25th-ranked and 16th-ranked offense in points scored (94) and yards gained (1,620). The defense is 29th in points allowed (139) and yards yielded (1,869).

Both teams have horrid point differentials with Las Vegas sporting a -54 mark and Los Angeles having a -45 differential. And both squads have turned given the ball to opponents more than it has takeaways.

The Rams have six turnovers (three interceptions and three fumbles lost) with four takeaways (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries). The Raiders have a whopping 12 turnovers (seven interceptions and five fumbles lost) compared to just a meager two takeaways (two interceptions).

Las Vegas is tops in the league when it comes to giving the ball away but a glut of teams are right behind them in: The New Orleans Saints (11), Dallas Cowboys (11), Seattle Seahawks (10), Denver Broncos (10), Carolina Panthers (10), and Tennessee Titans (10). The Rams eight gives them the eighth least in the NFL.

That said, the two teams do boast talented players.

Las Vegas’ run defense needs to be on its toes and dialed in if they want to stymie Los Angeles running back Kyren Williams. The fifth-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft paces the Rams ground game with 360 yards and six touchdowns on 95 carries. The Notre Dame product has 29 first downs under his belt despite a 3.8 yards per carry average. The Raiders defense has been gashed by opposing tailbacks this season and ranks 23rd in yards allowed (842) and 21st in rushing touchdowns given up (seven).

The Rams have a solid opportunity to see if Williams can increase his yards per carry average as the Raiders allow a robust 5.0 yards per carry.

“I like him a lot. I like him a lot. He’s a very patient runner. Does a good job of pressing the line of scrimmage. He has the ability to jump cut both right and to the left, and then his ability on contact,” Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said of the 24-year-old Rams running back. “He runs behind his pads but he’s able to shrink his surface area to make it hard to tackle, but just watching him, he’s really impressive. He’s really impressive.”

Flip the coin, and Los Angeles pass defense will have its hands full contending with Las Vegas rookie tight end Brock Bowers. The No. 13 overall pick int he 2024 NFL Draft is off to a sensational start to his career with 37 catches for 384 yards and a touchdown. The Georgia product has 17 first downs and a long catch of 57 yards — his lone touchdown on the year.

The Rams pass defense is ranked 18th in yards allowed (1,081) and 28th in passing touchdowns yielded (10).

Bowers has shown the ability to get open against linebackers and defensive backs alike, and even when he’s closely guarded, he has the ability to haul in passes thrown his way. He’s been targeted 46 times and has a catch percentage of 80.4 with only one drop.

Defensively, the Rams are paced by outside linebackers Byron Young (17 total tackles and two sacks) and Jared Verse (22 total tackles, one sack) as the duo leads the team in tackles for loss with five. Defensive end Kobie Turner leads the team with three sacks. While safety Quentin Lake and linebacker Christian Rozeboom lead the team in tackles with 43 and 42 total, apiece.

The Raiders defense is led by defensive end Maxx Crosby who has 5.5 sacks with nine tackles for loss. Middle linebacker Robert Spillane paces the team in total tackles with 62 while he has one sack, one interception, and five tackles for loss under his belt. Safety Tre’von Moehrig is second in tackles with 38 total and has an interception, too.

Series History: The two teams have faced off in 15 total games — all in the regular season. The Raiders led the all-time matchups 8-7. Despite that, the Silver & Black have lost the last three contests between the teams as the Rams thumped the Raiders 52-0 in the 2014 game, won 33-13 in the 2018 tilt, and most recently came back to edge Las Vegas 17-16 in 2022. The Raiders last win against the Rams was a 16-14 contest back in 2010.

Quote of Note:

“He could throw the ball from anywhere, everywhere, every angle, accurate, sees it, no look passes. I mean, we go against Patrick Mahomes twice a year, and if you’ve got a good warm up for Patrick coming up in a couple weeks, it’s good to go up against a Matthew Stafford.” —Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford