‘Tis the season for Thanksgiving and football. The Los Angeles Rams (9-2) travel to Charlotte, NC for a Week 13 matchup against the Carolina Panthers (6-6). Last week, the LA Rams dismantled the TB Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football in just the first half alone. Matthew Stafford and the offense scored 24 points while Aubrey Pleasant’s secondary collected another interception, a Cobie Durant pick-six. The secondary has been one of the biggest surprises amongst Los Angeles’s depth chart. Despite missing Darious Williams, Akhello Witherspoon, and Quentin Lake at various points in the year, the secondary has gotten even better in the second half of the season. Let’s take a look at how the Rams and Panthers matchup going into Sunday…
QB Breakdown: Matthew Stafford is on a heater right now. 27 straight touchdowns without an interception. But are we that surprised? His legacy and resume for the Hall of Fame continues to grow week by week.
Bryce Young, also a first overall pick – 2023, continues to be up and down in his career. The third year quarterback has 15 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. His completion percentage is a sub par 62.7%.
RB Breakdown: The Rams did not need to rely on Kyren Williams against Tampa Bay as the emphasis on offense was to throw the ball against a depleted Bucs secondary. Kyren should be fresh for Los Angeles has he only has 170 rushing attempts this year (15.4 attempts per year). Last year he averaged 19.7 attempts per game.
Rico Dowdle has been the engine for the Panthers offense. His 5.0 yards/carry has allowed the Carolina offense to be in manageable down and distances. The Panthers are not hesitant to get him involved in the passing game as well.
WR Breakdown: To quote Remember the Titans: “Jerry tells the jokes, Dean sings the songs and gets the girl.” Puka Nacua gets the yards. Davante Adams gets the all touchdowns. Don’t forget too that Tutu Atwell will be returning from a hamstring injury which will stretch the field; allowing Puka and Davante to work the middle of the field when the team operates in 11 personnel.
The Panthers wide receivers are led by rookie Tetairoa McMillan (78.8 PFF grade). McMillan has been targeted 96 times compared to Xavier Legette, the next closest at 51 targets. McMillan has 783 receiving yards and five touchdowns while Legette has 286 yards with three touchdowns.
TE Breakdown: With Tyler Higbee out, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen carried the tight end room in Week 12. Parkinson: 4 receptions, 41 yards, 1 touchdown and Allen: 3 receptions, 29 yards were used heavily in play action and in the screen game.
Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders, and Mitchell Evans all have double digit receptions, 100+ receiving yards, and at least one touchdown. But none of them have exceeded 200 receiving yards on the year. I don’t expect the LA defense to be too concerned with Carolina’s tight ends.
OL Breakdown: No Rob Havenstein? No problem. Like I said last week, Warren McClendon has actually played better than the 11-year veteran this year. Coleman Shelton did not have the best game either but he was having to run and pass block against Vita Vea.
Carolina’s offensive line from left to right will be: Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett (former Ram!), Chandler Zavala, and Taylor Moton. The only weak link along their offensive line is Zavala. Their offensive line is middle of the league in sacks allowed per game: 2.3 (17th-best).
DL Breakdown: Kobie Turner re-introduced himself with a 4 tackle and 2 sack performance against the Buccaneers. The Rams defensive line grades as follow: Turner (72.9), Ford (82.6), Fiske (62.6), and Davis (74.3). After hovering around middle of the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, LA now ranks 12th best.
Carolina’s defensive line doesn’t come anywhere close to the caliber of talent as Los Angeles. Former Ram, A’Shawn Robinson and Derrick Brown anchor the middle but are really only known for stopping the run. Tershawn Warton is in the rotation but does not provide a lot of meaningful contribution.
EDGE Breakdown: Jared Verse is also coming off a two sack game; giving him a new season-best. Jared Verse may not always collect the sacks but is ability to move offensive linemen is impressive.
DJ Wonnum and Nic Scourton will come off the edge for Carolina. Scourton leads the Panthers with 3 sacks. Not exactly a great sign at Carolina’s ability to apply pressure.
LB Breakdown: Nate Landman put pen to paper at the end of last week; signing a three year extension to remain in Los Angeles. This was a win-win deal for both Landman and the Rams as they sign a top 10 linebacker to an affordable deal with limited guaranteed money. Landman secures his first sizable bag as a professional after only playing for $1 million going into this year.
Christian Rozeboom, Carolina’s leading tackler has not been able to practice due to a hip and hamstring issue. Krys Barnes will instead take his place in the middle.
DB Breakdown: Aubrey Pleasant’s secondary has been extraordinary as of late. He has gotten huge performances from Kam Kinchens (Week 11 vs. Seattle, 2 interceptions) and Emmanuel Forbes (Week 12 vs. Tampa Bay, 1 interception & 5 pass deflections). The ascension of Forbes as really given the defense a lift on the third level. Darious Williams, Akhello Witherspoon, and Quentin Lake have all suffered injuries at one point; forcing Forbes and others to step up. Kinchens is graded as the third best safety in the league (80.9).
The big news for Carolina is that Jaycee Horn (concussion) and Tre’Von Moehrig (suspension) will be absent from the secondary. Just like against Tampa Bay with Jamel Dean out, Stafford could be in for a big day passing.
ST Breakdown: Rams fans got their first taste of Harrison Mevis kicking field goals. He connected from 40 yards and 52 yards. In his words, he is here to stay.
Ryan Fitzgerald does the kicking for Carolina. He is 18 of 22 on the year.
Coaching Breakdown: Sean McVay has led the Rams to a 9-2 start and have an opportunity to be 10-2 for the first time in his tenure. Dave Canales is 11-18 through one and a half years. The fun matchup here will be Sean McVay going against defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, who coached with the Rams from 2017-2021. During his time in LA, Evero coached the safeties and was the passing game coordinator.
Do you think Los Angeles improves to 10-2 on the year?
What matchup suits the Rams best?
Where might be the Rams be susceptible?
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