4 burning questions for Rams vs. Jaguars in Week 13

[theramswire.usatoday.com] burning questions for Rams vs. Jaguars in Week 13


Cameron DaSilva
December 4, 2021 4:30 am PT


After losing their last three games, the Rams will play host to the Jaguars, who have also dropped three consecutive games. In desperate need of a win, the Rams couldn’t have asked for a much more favorable matchup.

Ahead of this game, we previewed the matchup with Jags Wire editor Jay Johnson, asking him four key questions about Jacksonville leading into Sunday’s tilt.

1
Rams Wire: How would you say Trevor Lawrence has played this season?
Jags Wire: It’s been a roller coaster for him, but much of it seems to be because of the staff not allowing him to be more of what he was in college (a dual-threat) and the lack of offensive weapons. He’s lost several skill guys like D.J. Chark Jr., Travis Etienne (in the preseason), Jamal Agnew, and most recently tight end Dan Arnold, which honestly isn’t his fault or the staff’s.

That’s not to say that he hasn’t made some rookie mistakes either, though. Earlier in the season, he struggled with turnovers, but corrected that problem around Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He went on a solid run from that point to about Week 6 and gave fans a glimpse of what a No. 1 overall pick looks like.

Since the bye week, it’s been a struggle, although he looked to be getting on the right path during the second half of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. He had his weekly “we’ve never seen that before in Jacksonville” throw in the third quarter where he dropped an absolute dime to former Rams receiver Tavon Austin in the back of the end zone. That said, the biggest key heading forward will be the staff around him putting him in the position to prosper, and unfortunately, that means help isn’t on the way until the offseason.


2
Who is an underrated player on offense the Rams have to worry about?
JW: Right now, they honestly are depleted when it comes to skill guys aside from James Robinson, who is dealing with heel and knee injuries himself. But there are two guys I think are underrated within the current group, and those players are tight end James O’Shaughnessy and receiver Laquon Treadwell.

O’Shaughnessy is a player fans haven’t seen a lot of this season because he went on injured reserve after Week 2 and didn’t return until last week. But he’s a sneaky threat that can hurt teams in the seam as we saw with one of his catches last week.

As for Treadwell, he’s a guy that built a connection with Lawrence during the offseason, but due to the latter ending up on the practice squad, that connection eroded when the regular season rolled around. Now, with the team losing several receivers he’s been promoted to the active roster, and while he isn’t a burner, he has reliable hands and is a guy the Jags could look to for a few key conversions.


3
What did the Jags do so well in their stunning win against the Bills?
JW: The defense played their tails off, that’s what. Ever since the bye week, the group has improved after struggling mightily before. In the Bills game, the Josh Allen-led unit caused three crucial turnovers, two of which were picks by the Bills’ Josh Allen and he also lost a fumble.

They haven’t been a team that garners a lot of turnovers and they need one more star in the trenches to pair with Allen, but defensive coordinator Joe Cullen has made some changes (like going to more zone coverage) that has helped the group a lot. Additionally, they have some guys in the trenches who’ve started to push the pocket a little more like Roy Robertson-Harris, something they previously had issues with.


4
Do you see them having a chance for the upset on Sunday? Who are you picking to win?
JW: It’s hard for me to pick them to win because they simply don’t have much to work with in terms of scoring on offense. But if Stafford is having a rough day, that’s certainly a recipe to make it closer than many expect. After all, we’ve witnessed this Rams team not beat the Detroit Lions like many thought, so you can never say never in this league.