With three games left to play in the 2024 NFL regular season, the Los Angeles Rams possess something they haven't since Week 1: control of their destiny.
That's right, currently sitting pretty with the best record in their division, a feat they, again, haven't accomplished this season since every team was perfect at 0-0; if the Rams win their final three games, they are guaranteed a playoff spot as the winners of the NFC West, going to bat against either the fifth or sixth seed, depending on how the rest of the year shakes out.
Now granted, there is still a path to the playoffs if the Rams lose a game or even down moving forward, as it looks like both the Rams and the Seahawks will represent the division in the playoffs come January, but if they can win out, including a pivotal Week 18 showdown against Seattle, Los Angeles will finish out the season with an 11-6 record and will be facing some team with a worse record at home in the Wildcard round.
But for that to happen, the Rams have to first take care of the New York Jets, a team they haven't played since all the way back in December of 2020.
Could the Rams' bi-costal foes, representing the two premier cities the United States of America have to offer, take their Erewhon-loving foes by surprise, slatting down a W like American on a chopped cheese? Potentially so, as the game does feature a six-hour plane ride out of the Meadowlands.
But considering the Jets are down bad in 2024, officially being eliminated from the playoffs despite getting a full season out of California boy Aaron Rodgers, there's a pretty good chance for the Rams to really separate themselves from the pack and add a crucial game lead against the field heading into Christmas. Considering the Seahawks have a date with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, this feels like the perfect chance for LA to really get where they want to be heading into the final push for the playoffs.
1. The Rams' defense makes the Jets one-dimensional
There's no two ways about it: the Jets are a bad rushing team.
I know, crazy, right? You'd think a team with Breece Hall starting 13 of their 14 games would have a pretty good ground game almost by default, especially with Rodgers lighting the box with his impressive passing prowess, but so far, that really hasn't been the case almost by design.
You see, the Jets actually like to run the ball even less than the Rams, with the team ranked 32nd in rushing attempts at 300 and 31st in rushing yards at 1,256. While they aren't technically bad at running the ball when they choose to, as their 4.2 yards per attempt ranks 19th in the NFL, they just don't seem committed to using that aspect of the game to the same degree that they throw the ball.
Could that change in Week 16? Sure, anything is possible, as fans in LA still have nightmares about Saquon Barkley's 255-yard game to this day from SNF, but for that to happen, the Jets would actually want to attack the run with Hall leading the way.
Unless the team seriously decides to change their offensive identity and take the pressure off their quarterback in Week 16, which is probably going to be Rodgers but could end up being Tyrod Taylor at some point in the game, chances are the Jets will keep throwing the ball against LA. Is that a wise call? No, probably not, as the Rams are almost as bad against the run as the Jets are, but as LA fans will attest all season long, coaches rarely change their core principles even with the season on the line, which could lead to a big weekend by Rodgers but another quiet showing by Hall.
2. Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford duke it out through the air
Heading into Week 16, fans in LA get to see a matchup the NFC North became spoiled by over the last decade: Aaron Rodgers vs. Matthew Staford.
That's right, after spending their primes as the starting quarterbacks of the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions respectively, the two elder statesmen signal callers have moved on to bigger markets to really make the most of their final NFL runs, with Stafford winning a Super Bowl for his efforts and Rodgers, well, doing everything Rodgers is up to in 2024.
Asked about the game by Pat McAfee on his namesake ESPN show, Rodgers noted that he's excited to duke it out with Stafford, as they've formed a friendship through their years of on-field battle.
“It's fun. Matt's one of my all-time favorite competitors to go against,” Rodgers told Pat McAfee via Athlon Sports. “(We've had) a lot of fun battles over the years… He plays the game in a way that I totally respect. He's savvy, he's smart, he's gritty, he's competitive. I've always been a big Matt Stafford fan, so I'm excited to see him.”
One of the most prolific rivalries in the NFL right now, it's safe to assume that both Stafford and Rodgers will air it out a ton in Week 16, as both of their teams have a pension for passing in 2024, and the duo actually have remarkably similar stat lines in 2024, with the former amassing 3,463 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while the latter has 3,255 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
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So, if the passing game is more or less equal, with the Jets having a better secondary, considering Cobie Durant may not play, what will decide the game? Enter Kyren Williams, LA's battering ram who has really come on over the past few weeks as an offensive focal point.
3. Kyren Williams holds the key to a Rams Week 16 victory
After really breaking out in 2023, it looks like the Rams, for some reason, just didn't want to give Williams the ball early in the season.
Maybe it was because of the team's unsettled offensive line situation, cycling through double-digit players before they settled on their current starting five, or maybe Sean McVay simply preferred to dial up passing plays even down his top two receivers. But Williams was rarely getting much play for the Rams early on, leading to some fans wondering if he would get cycled out entirely in favor of rookie Blake Corum, who admittedly also seldom saw the field early on.
Since Week 11, and especially over the past two weeks, things have really turned around for Williams, with the Notre Dame rusher averaging 4.76 yards per attempt on the way to 457 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Now over 1,000 yards on the year, it looks like the Rams are finally embracing their rushing game, with Stafford also benefitting from a more-balanced workload.
Now granted, it won't be easy, as LA is facing off against a Jets defense that ranks 16th against the run despite being ran against the fourth-most times of any NFL team, but if the Rams commit to the run, it will open up the downfield game and thus allow them to attack New York's defense from anywhere. Factor in McVay's willingness to move his star players around in the pursuit of avoiding Sauce Gardner, and this has the potential to be another nice win for the Rams.
