The 10-4 Los Angeles Rams will travel to Tennessee to take on the 8-6 Titans in this Sunday afternoon matchup. These teams suffered different fates last week, which had big effects on their playoff status. The Rams easily defeated the Seattle Seahawks 42-7 on the road. The win solidified Los Angeles atop the NFC West as they have a 2 game lead with 2 games left. Tennessee dropped its second game in a row with a 25-23 loss on the road to the San Francisco 49ers. The game ended on a 45 yard Robbie Gould field goal as time expired. While not officially eliminated from the playoffs, they will need help getting in even if they win out.
The Rams running backs dominated the Seahawks defense by gaining 244 rushing yards. Todd Gurley continued his MVP season with 152 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries. He also caught 3 passes for 28 yards and a 4th touchdown. Gurley is ranked 1st in the league in rushing touchdowns with 13 and 3rd in the league in yards with 1,187 yards. Jared Goff had a mixed day with 120 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception on 14 completions. His favorite target was Robert Woods who had 6 catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. For the year, the Rams offense has averaged 31 points and 377 yards per game. Defensively, they limited the Seahawks to just 220 yards of total offense. They sacked Russell Wilson 7 times for a loss of 71 yards. They also recovered 2 fumbles and had 9 tackles for losses.
Marcus Marriotta played good finishing with a passer rating of 110 against the 49ers. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 241 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His favorite target was Rishard Matthews who had 95 yards and a touchdown on 6 catches. Demarco Murray led the running game with 59 yards on 18 carries. They only had 1 offensive play that went for more than 17 yards. Defensively, they allowed the 49ers to gain 432 yards with 381 coming from the air. Five different San Francisco receivers had catches that went for more that 17 yards. They did a good job against the rush allowing just 51 yards on 22 carries, which is an average of 2.3 yards per run. On the season, the Titans defense has allowed their opponents to average 22.8 points and 347 yards per game.
Tennessee will have home field advantage and are 6.5-point underdogs in this game. They have gone 6-7-1 against the spread this season including 3-2-1 at home. The Rams have gone 9-5 against the spread including 5-2 on the road. Both teams still have motivation to play their best players with the Rams trying to win the division and the Titans fighting for their lives. The Rams last won the NFC West title in 2003 and have Goff and Gurley both playing above their expectations.
