Rams at Giants: 6 things to know for Week 6 matchup

[theramswire.usatoday.com]
Rams at Giants: 6 things to know for Week 6 matchup


Cameron DaSilva
October 13, 2021 7:50 am PT


The Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants are trending in opposite directions as they get ready for a Week 6 matchup at MetLife Stadium. The Rams are coming off a big win over the Seahawks, while the Giants are banged up and could be missing three of their top players.

Here are six things to know ahead of Rams-Giants on Sunday afternoon, including recent results when these two teams have squared off.

1
Rams lost 7 straight to Giants before Sean McVay arrived
The Giants had the Rams’ number for several years before McVay became the head coach in Los Angeles. New York beat the Rams seven straight times from 2002-2016, with five of those wins coming by at least 10 points.

Since then, McVay has led the Rams to two consecutive wins over the Giants. They’ve outscored the Giants 68-16 in that span, helped by a 51-17 win in 2017. But before McVay took over in 2017, New York absolutely owned the Rams for more than a decade.


2
Since 2017, Rams are 5-3 under in games after extra rest
After beating the Seahawks in Week 5, the Rams should be well rested for this matchup with the Giants. They last played on Thursday night, giving them extra time to recover and heal up prior to taking on New York.

The Rams are 5-3 in games coming off nine or more days of rest under McVay. With extra time to prep, it’s only logical that a team would perform better after a Thursday night game, so this isn’t a terribly surprising stat.


3
Giants rank 31st in plays and yards allowed per drive
Much has been made about the performance of the Giants’ offense in recent years, including this season. But the defense has been atrocious in 2021, giving a subpar offense no support whatsoever.

The Giants defense ranks 31st in plays (7.0) and yards (41.6) allowed per drive, as well as 31st in average drive time (3:17). They’ve allowed the fourth-most yards in the NFL, including the sixth-most rushing yards, giving up 4.7 yards per carry (28th). Slowing down the Giants offense shouldn’t be difficult, nor should moving the ball against them.


4
Only two teams are worse than NY in the red zone
Part of the reason for the Giants’ lack of points this season is their red zone inefficiency. They’re 12th in total yards but just 23rd in scoring, largely because they can’t seem to punch it in when reaching the opponent’s 20-yard line.

The Giants have scored touchdowns on just six of their 15 red zone trips, a rate of 40%. That’s the third-worst conversion rate in the NFL. Only the Patriots (37.5%) and Colts (36.8%) have been worse in the red zone this season.

5
Rams have best 4th-down defense in NFL, 3rd-worst 3rd-down defense
In order for the Giants pull off this massive upset, they’ll need to sustain drives and convert on third and fourth down. Moving the chains on third down hasn’t been terribly difficult for the Rams’ opponents this season, ranking 30th in third-down defense (48.3%).

However, the Rams have the best fourth-down defense in football, allowing just one conversion on eight attempts. The Rams must step things up on third down against New York, which shouldn’t be difficult considering how shorthanded the Giants will be in this one.

6
Rams won 51-17 in their last trip to MetLife Stadium
The last time the Rams visited MetLife Stadium, it came after a bye. That was back in 2017 when they absolutely steamrolled the Giants on the road, 51-17. Like this weekend’s game, it was an early 1 p.m. ET kickoff on the East Coast, which is traditionally difficult for West Coast teams.

The Rams made things look easy, however, putting up 473 yards of total offense, which was the most they gained in a single game that year. After the first quarter, which ended with the score tied at seven, the Rams outscored the Giants 44-10.

It was a blowout in every sense of the word, something the Rams hope to repeat this weekend.