After four weeks of September football, both the Los Angeles Rams (1-3) and Green Bay Packers (2-2) find themselves in a peculiar position neither Sean McVay nor Matt LaFleur would have envisioned heading into the regular season.
With both NFC franchises bringing up the rear in each of their respective divisions due to unfortunate injuries that have kept key offensive weapons sidelined, both the Rams and Packers will look to avoid falling further in the standings as old coaching partners clash at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday, October 6th at 3:25 PM CST on CBS.
Can Green Bay Head Coach Get The Best Of Old Coaching Pal?: Packers @ Rams Week 5 Preview
History of the Head Coaches
This Sunday, former offensive assistants of a Kyle Shanahan-led 2010 Washington group will join the field against each other for the 5th time as head coaches of their respective squads.
After leaving Washington in 2017 to join the Rams, Sean McVay hired Matt LaFleur as LA’s offensive coordinator until LaFleur was given the opportunity to handle playcalling duties as head coach for Green Bay in 2019.
Since then, the green and gold remain undefeated against McVay’s Rams in the four matchups they’ve competed in, including the 2021 NFC Divisional Round where the Packers advanced to the NFC Championship and fell short of another Super Bowl appearance to Shanahan’s 49ers.
LaFleur will look to keep his win streak against McVay alive with a healthy Jordan Love back in the lineup for the Pack after spending two weeks on the sideline with an MCL sprain.
Rams Recent Loss
The Rams travel back to LA after an unexpected loss to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, a game that saw the Rams defense fail to force any turnovers and quarterback Matthew Stafford experience difficulties getting the ball to his wideouts in the red zone.
Kyren Williams, who seemed to be the offense’s only bright spot, nearly reached 100 yards rushing and scored LA’s only touchdown on the day early in the 4th quarter.
Pack Taking Punches
Meanwhile, Green Bay is coming off a horrendous first-half performance against the Minnesota Vikings, where quarterback Sam Darnold threw for three of four total Vikings touchdowns on the first five offensive drives before the Packers scored their first points.
After a 28-0 deficit with roughly 5 minutes left in the half, some second-half adjustments saw the Packers crawl back into the game, only to fall short 31-29 at home.
The match witnessed the green and gold commit:
- Four turnovers
- Two turnovers on downs
- Eight penalties
- Three punts
- Two missed field goals by rookie kicker Brayden Narveson
So, what should each team prioritize when it comes to coming out on top and starting a trend in the right direction?
Rams – Creativity in the Red Zone
While Stafford continues to remain among the top passing yard leaders in the league without his star wideouts Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, he has recorded just two touchdown passes in four games, which is second worst among quarterbacks who have started since Week 1. With Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington once again leading the receiving core this week, the passing game will continue to remain static if McVay takes the same approach he took against Chicago.
As far as running the ball, Kyren Williams has not had trouble seeing the end zone as he leads the NFL with five touchdowns, alongside Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara, and holds a seven-game streak of reaching the painted area dating back to last season. Williams is relied upon heavily in the Rams offense, as he is fifth in the league in rushing attempts, but averages just 3.5 yards a carry behind an offensive line that ceases to stay healthy.
McVay tends to lean towards a pass-heavy strategy that sees the Rams wideouts become responsible for gaining yards off of screen passes, where a healthy Kupp and Nacua thrive in providing blocks upfield. If the Rams want to have success in the red zone, McVay will need to utilize the weapons in his arsenal more creatively, Williams in particular, to put the offense in a position to execute on drives.
Packers – Exploiting a Weak Rams O-Line and D-Line
The Rams banged-up offensive line have struggled to protect their QB, allowing 13 sacks of Stafford, tied for the fourth most this season. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s front has been excellent in the pass rush and should continue to put immense amounts of pressure on Stafford.
With CB’s Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine questionable for Sunday’s matchup, Green Bay will need to make Stafford’s job stressful in the pocket in case neither is able to suit up.
Offensively, the Packers simply need to take care of the football. After coming away without points on 11 of their 15 total drives against Minnesota, Jordan Love can not afford to give the Rams offense opportunities to score easily off of costly throwing errors.
LaFleur should look to establish the run game early against a defense that has had trouble stopping the run, allowing a league-worst 165.5 rushing yards to opponents in 2024.
Main Image: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
