After a crazy week of NFL results, the standings shifted once again. The Los Angeles Rams now sit atop the NFC and the NFC West at 9-2, the Los Angeles Chargers, after a bye week, are the fifth seed in the AFC at 7-4, and the Las Vegas Raiders are near the bottom of the AFC at 2-9. The Rams had a dominant showing on Sunday night with a 34-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Raiders were embarrassed at home once again and fell to the Cleveland Browns in a 24-10 loss, and as mentioned, the Chargers were on a bye.
Starting with the Raiders, after the loss, they fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, as the offense once again stalled as the Raiders struggled to sustain drives. This comes two and a half weeks after firing special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. The Raiders need some change, and head coach Pete Carroll felt that so far, these are the changes necessary for the future success of Las Vegas.
Geno Smith had some impressive throws in Week 12; however, the 14-0 deficit to start the game forced the hand of Las Vegas and, in turn, made it tough to get Ashton Jeanty involved in the game. Smith did have 285 passing yards and a score; however, he was sacked ten times and lost 77 yards on those sacks. This offensive line has struggled all year, and against a great Browns pass rush, it was possibly their worst performance of the year.
Jeanty had 17 carries for 50 yards, and there was really no room anywhere. It appears to be the playcalling that puts the Raiders behind the chains and allows the defenses to load the box, making it impossible to move the ball on the ground. Success on first down is critical for the rest of the season for Vegas.
The defense for the Raiders was in some tough situations off a short field after a punt, which led to a Cleveland touchdown. However, they also allowed rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders to make his first start, and he made some great plays against Las Vegas, namely a 52-yard bomb to rookie Isaiah Bond and a 66-yard screen pass that went the distance to rookie Dylan Sampson. Maxx Crosby made some plays as well, as he had five TFLs, but unfortunately, it was not enough.
The Raiders' defense did a great job in the run game but allowed two touchdowns to rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, who only had 47 yards on the day. The story of the day was the Raiders giving up the big plays and not getting off the field against the Browns' rookie talents on key downs, and especially in short yardage in the red zone.
Their opponent, the LA Chargers, are coming off a bye and, as we talked about last week, were throttled by the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-6. LA comes off the bye in hope that they can get healthier, which would include Omarion Hampton, hopeful to make his return from injury as soon as this week. The Chargers must also get at least average play from their offensive line to protect Justin Herbert, as well as establish the run game and simplify the game for everyone. When there are injuries like the Chargers have, the idea may be some complex solution; however, sticking to your identity of running first will yield results if you can live in third and manageable.
LA on defense needs to respond in the run game, as they got gashed for nearly 200 yards in their last outing. The Chargers also need the pass rush to get home to take the pressure off the secondary and force some negative plays. Luckily, the Chargers have an opportunity at home to have a great bounce-back game against an offense that is near the bottom of the NFL in rushing and has a sup-par offensive line in pass protection.
On the Raiders' offensive side of the ball, clearly, one of the important matchups is again trying to establish the run game to open up the playbook on later downs. Vegas averages 79.5 rushing yards per game, putting them 31st, and LA gives up 113.8 rushing yards per game, which is 17th. Either the Chargers will bounce back on the ground game defense, or the Raiders will take advantage of a potential weakness of LA with a new playcaller on offense.
Additionally, how LA holds up against Brock Bowers will be vital. In the previous matchup in Week 2, the Chargers held Bowers to five catches for 38 yards on eight targets. On the season, LA does allow the eighth most yards to tight ends per game at 20.1. However, without the threat of Jakobi Meyers, it will be interesting to see if Tre Tucker, Tyler Lockett, and the Raider run game can open up Bowers more or if the Chargers defense can focus on him and keep the offense hemmed in.
On the other side, the LA offensive line needs to play better, but some of that does have to do with Herbert needing to get the ball out faster, as well as playcalling. Herbert's average time to throw is 2.9 seconds, ranking ninth longest, which must be faster under these circumstances, allowing the pressure rate to be 41.0% ranking fourth, and a 40.6 pressure rate on no blitzes, which is second. Trying to hold the ball against Crosby with these tackles would be a death sentence. So changing playcalls and getting players like Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston involved underneath will be a crucial element to this game for Los Angeles.
Also, the Chargers must look to get the run game going, because in most of their losses, the inability to have a consistent run game throughout the game has caused drives to stall. In their last three games, they have averaged 96.0 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 26th. However, Las Vegas has done a great job stopping the run in the last three, only allowing 87.3 yards per game, placing them at fourth in that span. Crosby made several plays in Week 12 against Cleveland, so a great game plan could be running more power-oriented runs to keep him from disruption. If LA truly wants to get back to their identity and become a championship team, this is a game they have to win, and within the game, this is a must-win matchup for them.
The Chargers' offensive struggles really have come down to the offensive line. So if Herbert can get rid of the ball faster, playcalls can focus more on quick game, screens, and the run game that suits this offensive line, the Chargers can make a playoff push and look to maintain their playoff position for now.
The Rams now come off a dominant showing from start to finish. Matthew Stafford was on fire all night, ending with 273 yards, three touchdowns, and a 122.7 rating. His connections with all the receivers were great, but specifically with Puka Nacua, who had seven catches for 97 yards on 11 targets, and Davante Adams, with five catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets. However, the offensive line would have liked to run the ball better, only having 70 rushing yards on 19 carries for a 3.7-yard average, as well as giving up a sack.
The defense also played very well, getting a 50-yard pick-six early on to extend the lead from cornerback Cobie Durant and another pick from Emmanuel Forbes Jr. Baker Mayfield struggled in the air, getting sacked nine times, having 70 net passing yards as a result, threw two interceptions, but did have one score. At a certain point, Mayfield was benched due to injury, as the game was out of hand and there was no sense in getting more injured in a situation like this. However, the Buccaneers were able to run the ball decently on 29 carries for 129 yards and a 4.2 yards per carry average.
The game got away from Tampa before they knew what happened, but slowing the game down and limiting possessions could potentially do a great deal if they were to play again.
Their upcoming opponent, the Carolina Panthers, is coming off a very winnable game against the San Francisco 49ers. The Panthers forced three first-half interceptions from Brock Purdy and a forced fumble against Christian McCaffrey, which the 49ers recovered. Of all these turnovers, Carolina only generated three points and threw an interception in the endzone, leaving so many opportunities on the field. Bryce Young struggled all night long, throwing two interceptions and only 169 passing yards with one score. The story of the game was the Panthers not taking advantage of the 49ers' turnovers. The Panthers also showed no ability at all to run the football, putting the offense in tough passing situations.
On the other side, the defense can only hold up for so long. The San Faransisco offense ultimately took over on the heels of McCaffrey. He has had a great season, and with him staying healthy, the 49ers have a real shot to fight for a playoff spot and potentially an NFC West crown. McCaffrey ended the game with 142 yards on 31 touches and a score. Purdy does need to clean up the turnovers, though, if the 49ers are to go far.
One of the key matchups of the game will be the Panthers' average pass defense, which allows 211.2 passing yards per game, ranking 16th, taking on a steaming hot Rams offense, which is averaging 248.4 passing yards per game, putting them at fifth. Stafford is playing like an MVP right now, so trying to limit this passing game will be tough, especially with weapons like Nacua and Adams. The Rams also have an opportunity to establish their run game, which has been struggling, averaging 105.0 yards per game over the last three games, but they are going against a defense that has allowed 131.3 rush yards per game over its last three games. LA needs to get Kyren Williams involved more against, and this is a great way to do that.
On offense, Carolina has a tall task against one of the NFL's premier defenses. In their last game, the Rams held Tampa Bay to 70 passing yards and lived in the backfield all day long. If things don't change from Monday night, the Panthers could be due for a day like that with a season pass yard average of 185.0 yards per game, which is 27th. The Rams' pass rush will no doubt have opportunities to get to Bryce Young, and with their 11th-ranked pressure rate of 38.6% they will get home and cause havoc for this Panther offense. The Panther offensive line is 14th in pressure rate allowed at 37.0% so this matchup will go a long way for the rhythm of the offense for Young and the Carolina playcallers.
We are now in the part of the season where teams must start playing their best football, and if you don't, you're going home early. There are some massive games this week, so sink into your couch, enjoy some food, and get ready for some post-season level football!