PACKERVILLE, U.S.A.: Rams at Packers Preview

Disappointing seasons remove buzz from Rams-Packers matchup

Various Sources

DATE / TIME / TV: Monday, 8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN

SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 48-47-2

LAST MEETING: Packers beat Rams 36-28 on Nov. 28, 2021, in Green Bay

LAST WEEK: Rams beat Las Vegas Raiders 17-16 at home on December 8; Packers were off last week after winning 28-19 at Chicago on December 4.

RAMS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31-T), RUSH (30), PASS (25), SCORING (29)

PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (12), PASS (16), SCORING (23)

RAMS DEFENSE: OVERALL (13), RUSH (5), PASS (21), SCORING (16)

PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (18), RUSH (30), PASS (5), SCORING (21)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams minus-6, Packers minus-2

This can’t be what the NFL’s schedule-makers and ESPN executives had in mind. When the league’s slate of prime-time games came out in the spring, a mid-December matchup between the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and the three-time defending NFC North champion Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field sounded like TV ratings gold. Surely visions of gorgeous wide-angle shots of the falling snow and big-time playoff implications were dancing in their heads. But instead of a playoff preview, the “Monday Night Football” audience will get two of the NFL’s most disappointing teams when the Rams (4-9) visit the Packers (5-8).

Although both teams are still mathematically in playoff contention, the Rams are assured a sub-.500 record, and the Packers could win out and still miss the postseason for the first time under coach Matt LaFleur. “Being the No. 1 seed (in the NFC) the last two seasons leading into this season, a lot of high hopes, right?” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said during the bye week. “We were certainly expected to be competing for a championship — and we are still in it. “If we’re able to dig our way back into this thing, we still kind of feel like we have the ability to do that. But this season has not gone as we expected.” Before newly added quarterback Baker Mayfield rallied the Rams to a 17-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders last week — just two days after being claimed on waivers from the Carolina Panthers — the defending champs looked like they were playing out the string. But their Mayfield-fueled comeback has at least brought some energy to what could have been a lifeless final month of the season. “I think some positive momentum, no doubt,” McVay said. “You’re just so happy because you see the players be able to see the work that they’ve put in and then get some tangible rewards.”

LET HIM BAKE: Mayfield not only learned enough of the playbook in less than two days to function within the Rams’ offense when he replaced John Wolford after one series against the Raiders, he managed to throw for 230 yards and the game-winning touchdown to cap a 98-yard drive with the game on the line. For his efforts, he was named the NFC offensive player of the week. “I don’t know if you could write it any better than that,” Mayfield said after the game. “Obviously, we’d like to be a little bit more stress-free. But it’s a pretty damn good story. I’ll be honest with you. It’s special.” McVay subsequently named Mayfield the starter for Monday night, with Wolford dealing with a neck injury and starter Matthew Stafford done for the year because of a spinal contusion.

PICK PARADE? The last time the Packers saw Mayfield was last Christmas Day, when he was throwing four interceptions for the Cleveland Browns in the Packers’ 24-22 victory at Lambeau Field. Rasul Douglas had two of those picks, but the Packers’ defense hasn’t been nearly as effective at taking the ball away this season. A year after ranking third in the league with 26 turnovers forced, the Packers are tied for 15th with 15 takeaways this year — although nearly half of those (seven) have come in the past four games. “I do think they come in bunches,” Douglas said. “I just think we’re being more aggressive as a team and we’re all on the same page with what we’ve got going on.”

FAMILIAR FACE: Packers edge rusher Justin Hollins, much like Mayfield, hit the ground running full speed with his new team. Hollins arrived in Green Bay on Thanksgiving after being claimed on waivers from the Rams, and was on the field three days later against Philadelphia on Nov. 30. Hollins stuffed Eagles running back Miles Sanders for a 2-yard loss early and sacked Jalen Hurts for a 5-yard loss in that game. The Packers were in dire need at the position after losing top edge rusher Rashan Gary to a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 6.

ELEMENTARY, WATSON: Packers rookie second-round pick Christian Watson’s eight touchdowns over the past four games made him the second rookie wide receiver in NFL history to score eight TDs from scrimmage over four games, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Minnesota’s Randy Moss was the first to do it, in 1998. “When the opportunities presented themselves, obviously he’s made the most of them,” Gutekunst said. “I think the thing I’m most proud about with Christian right now is he really has a desire to be great — and he’s not walking around here like he’s arrived in any way. ... He knows there’s still a lot of work out there for him.”

ON THE MEND: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the MVP the past two seasons, enters the Packers’ final four games having thrown nine interceptions — the most he’s had in a season since he threw 11 during the team’s Super Bowl-winning season of 2010. His passer rating of 92.4 would be his lowest in 15 years as a starter. How much of his statistical downturn can be traced to the broken right thumb he suffered in London against the New York Giants on Oct. 9 is hard to say, but Rodgers said the thumb is close to fully healed and the rib injury he suffered against the Eagles is also much improved.

RAMS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Baker Mayfield. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft had practiced just once with his new team before rallying them to a dramatic victory over the Raiders in his Rams debut. With usual starter Matthew Stafford unlikely to play the rest of the season with a spinal cord bruise and John Wolford probably out Monday because of a neck bruise, Mayfield gets a chance to build on his momentum as he attempts to rejuvenate his career.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB A.J. Dillon. The forecast calls for single-digit temperatures Monday night at Green Bay, and Dillon’s bruising style typically thrives in those conditions. Dillon has come on strong lately with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries over his past two games.

KEY MATCHUP: Packers WR Christian Watson vs. Rams CB Jalen Ramsey. Watson has scored eight touchdowns (seven receiving, one rushing) over his past four games. The rookie second-round pick from North Dakota State likely will spend at least part of the game lining up against Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro. Watson has shown he can make big plays even when he doesn’t get open. Watson clinched the Packers’ victory at Chicago with a 46-yard touchdown run on an end-around.

INJURY REPORT: LOS ANGELES RAMS: OUT: DT Marquise Copeland (ankle), DT Aaron Donald (ankle), LB Travin Howard (hip), CB David Long (groin), QB John Wolford (neck). QUESTIONABLE: C Brian Allen (knee). FULL: LB Ernest Jones (wrist), CB Robert Rochell (wrist). GREEN BAY PACKERS: OUT: T David Bakhtiari (knee, abdomen). LIMITED: G Elgton Jenkins (knee), RB Aaron Jones (ankle). FULL: LB Krys Barnes (hand), WR Romeo Doubs (ankle), LB Kingsley Enagbare (knee), S Rudy Ford (wrist), QB Aaron Rodgers (right thumb, rib), S Darnell Savage (foot).

SERIES NOTES: The Rams can tie the series with a victory Monday. Green Bay took the lead by beating the Rams at Lambeau Field last season. Aaron Rodgers threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score in that game. The Packers have won seven of their past eight matchups with the Rams. The Packers are 6-1 against the Rams in games that Rodgers has started. That includes a 32-18 NFC divisional playoff victory during the 2020 season. The Rams’ only victory in their past eight meetings with the Packers was a 29-27 triumph at home in 2018.

STATS AND STUFF: This is the Packers’ first home game since a 27-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17. They lost at Philadelphia and won at Chicago before having last week off… The Packers’ victory at Chicago allowed them to overtake the Bears for the most regular-season wins by any NFL franchise. The Packers have 787 wins. It’s the first time since 1921 the Bears didn’t have at least a share of the lead in that category… This is the NFL-leading 30th consecutive season in which the Packers have played a Monday night game. The Packers have won their past five Monday night games… WR Christian Watson is only the second NFL rookie receiver to score eight touchdowns from scrimmage in a four-game span. The other was Minnesota’s Randy Moss in 1998. Watson’s seven touchdown catches lead all rookies this season… Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon has at least 100 yards in kickoff returns in four straight games. The only other Packer to do that since 1941 was Steve Odom in 1975. Nixon also had his first career interception in his most recent game… Packers OLB Justin Hollins was claimed off waivers from the Rams on Nov. 24. Hollins has one sack and two tackles for loss in two games with Green Bay… The Rams will attempt to avoid joining the 1999 Denver Broncos as the only defending Super Bowl champions to lose 10 games… Los Angeles is expected to have the same starting offensive line group for three straight games for the first time this season, although C Brian Allen is practicing lightly to manage his thumb injury… Tyler Higbee needs two touchdowns to become the Rams’ career TDs leader among tight ends, but Higbee has yet to score this season… LB Bobby Wagner needs eight tackles to become ninth in NFL history in regular-season tackles… Rams WR Ben Skowronek didn’t leave the field in the previous game against the Raiders, taking every offensive snap. He had career highs of seven catches for 89 yards… Mayfield’s next passing TD will be the 100th of his career… The Rams are still the NFL’s second-least-penalized team this season despite committing 16 penalties in the past three games… The Rams are 3-12 on the road against the Packers since 1982, their worst road record against any NFC opponent in that span. The three wins came in 1988, 1995 and 2006. The Packers earned a 36-28 win at Lambeau in Week 12 last season… The Rams snapped a six-game losing streak with a 17-16 win over the Raiders at home last Thursday. It was just their third one-point win in the last 20 seasons (also Week 10, 2011 at Cleveland and Week 17, 2021 at Baltimore)… There have been two times in the Super Bowl era where a quarterback came off the bench, threw for 200+ yards, rallied from 13+ points down to win and snapped his team's winless streak of six or more games. One was Baker Mayfield's Browns debut in 2018, and the other was his Rams debut last week… The Packers are coming off a bye after winning 28-19 in Chicago in Week 13 despite trailing 19-10 in the fourth quarter. It was the first time they had won a game by at least nine points since trailing by at least nine in the fourth quarter since a 1985 win at Minnesota (trailed 17-6, won 27-17)… In Week 13, Christian Watson became the second rookie wide receiver with a rushing and receiving touchdown in a game this season (also New England's Tyquan Thornton in Week 6), and the fifth since 2020. From 1991 through 2019, there were a total of five such games by rookie wideouts… The Rams have just 13 points on their 14 total takeaways this season, half as many points as any other team (Denver ranks 31st with 26 takeaway points). The Packers have allowed 35 giveaway points on their 17 turnovers this season, tied for fifth fewest in the league.