The Rams have been awful this year and they will be without starting QB Sam Bradford in this game as A.J. Feeley will draw the start (his first since 2007).  The Cowboys are likely going to be in a nasty frame of mind after blowing last weekend’s game in New England right at the end.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  This is quite honestly, a very bad matchup for the Rams this weekend.  They are going to try to run the ball a lot with Steven Jackson.  That sounds like a good plan, but the Cowboys are only giving up 69.6 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry so far this year, so it won’t be easy.  A.J. Feeley is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly, because the Cowboys are going to be blitzing like hell.  Rams’ QBs have been sacked 22 times already this year and OLB DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys already has seven himself.  Still, Feeley will no doubt be looking for Rams’ new WR Brandon Lloyd down the field in this game.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Rams are going to have to get after Tony Romo, because if he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to shred the Rams’ secondary.  The Cowboys are averaging 324.8 yards passing per game so far this year and they Rams are giving up 240.4 yards per game, so it’s likely going to be a long, long day for the Rams’ D.  Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are all going to cause huge matchup problems for the Rams.  The Cowboys are giving rookie RB DeMarco Murray his first NFL start tomorrow, and the Rams hope they can contain him using just the front seven.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, RAMS 7

The Rams had two weeks to get ready for this game due to the bye last weekend.  Hopefully they found some weaknesses on tape of the Packers, who have been awesome this year.  They have been really good at home where they are 2-0, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 91-57!  Here is a look a the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  Now that RB Steven Jackson is 100% healthy, the Rams need to ride him this Sunday at Lambeau Field.  The Packers are only allowing 75.8 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry so far this year.  The Rams need to run the ball to try to control the clock and give Sam Bradford time to throw the ball.  He has been sacked 19 times already this year and Clay Matthews and his gang already have 12 sacks.  So Bradford is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly, so the Rams’ WRs, TEs and RBs are going to have to get yards after the catch.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers might try to mix in the run a little more than usual as the Rams are giving up 179.8 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry.  RBs James Starks and Ryan Grant are plenty good enough to exploit the Rams’ D.  The Rams also must get after Aaron Rodgers.  If Rodgers has time to throw the ball, he’s going to absolutely torch the Rams’ secondary which is decimated by injury right now.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 34, RAMS 10

The St. Louis Rams need to right the ship soon, or it’s going to be another lost season.  The Redskins are coming off a tough loss in Dallas on Monday Night Football, so the Rams hope that they are a tad tired.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are only averaging 12.0 points per game so far this year despite averaging 315.3 yards of offense per game.  The Rams are likely going to try to run the ball more than usual with Steven Jackson and Cadillac Williams in an effort to control the football and keep it away from the Redskins.  The Redskins like to blitz a lot, so the offensive line is going to have to step up and give Sam Bradford time to throw the ball (he has already been sacked 11 times this year).  One way to fix this is to have Bradford throw shorter passes, but that isn’t the strength of his WRs.  The Redskins are giving up 240.3 yards passing per game so far this year, so there are plays to be made in the passing game.

When the Redskins have the ball:  I wouldn’t call the Redskins a high flying offensive team, but they are very efficient both running the ball and throwing it.  The Rams are hoping that the “bad” Rex Grossman shows up against them this weekend.  The Rams are going to blitz more than usual to try to get Grossman to rush throwing the ball and make some mistakes.  Grossman could burn them on the blitz with short passes to his TEs (Fred Davis and Chris Cooley).  He is also going to take his shots down the field to Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney.  The Redskins are also going to take aim at the Rams’ run defense as they are giving up 174.3 yards rushing per game and 5.4 yards per carry.  So look for Tim Hightower and Roy Helu to combine for at least 25 carries this weekend.

PREDICTION:  REDSKINS 23, RAMS 21

The Rams are heading into this game with tons of injuries on offense, but the Ravens will give them opportunities to make some plays through the air as they are hurting at cornerback.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  Cadillac Williams is gimpy and Steven Jackson is out for this game, so look for Jerious Norwood to get increased action this Sunday.  The Ravens are only allowing 70.0 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry so far this year, so look for Sam Bradford to pass around 40 times this Sunday.  The Rams will have to keep DE/OLB Terrell Suggs out of the backfield if they want to give Bradford a legit chance to take aim down the field.  WRs Brandon Gibson, Danario Alexander and Mike Sims-Walker are all coming off big games last weekend against the Giants last Monday Night and they will be looking to repeat those efforts this Sunday.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Rams are allowing 177.5 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this year, so the Ravens are going to be running the ball as soon as they come out of the locker room Sunday.  Ray Rice and Ricky Williams are going to give the Rams’ fits in this game.  The Rams are going to blitz a lot on passing downs to try to force Joe Flacco into making mistakes like he was last week against the Ravens.  The Ravens don’t have anyone to help them stretch the field in the passing game, so look for most of their offensive plays to be in front of the Rams’ safeties this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 24, RAMS 20

The St. Louis Rams and New York Giants both got the heck beat out of them both on the scoreboard and physically last weekend.  Both of them are going to right their ships on Monday Night Football in New Jersey.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are likely going to try to play keepaway with the ball.  Cadillac Williams is going to get the ball a lot in both the running and passing games.  The Giants did well against the run last week as they held the Redskins to only 74 yards on 26 carries (2.8 ypc) last week, so Williams is going to fight for every yard he gets.  The Giants  have a good pass rush but a weak secondary.  The problem with this is that none of the Rams’ WRs or TEs stepped up last week.  The Rams will be without Danny Amendola this week and rookie Greg Salas is stepping into his role as the slot receiver.  Bradford will be looking for Mike Sims-Walker and Brandon Gibson a lot in this game.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants are a tad banged up at both WR and TE.  With that in mind, look for the Rams to see a very heavy dose of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  The front seven is really going to have to step up as the Eagles ran all over them last weekend (237 rushing yards, 7.6 ypc).  At least the Rams won’t have to worry about Eli Manning taking off running on them.  The Rams will have to try to get a good pass rush on Eli Manning or he is going to find his WRs and TEs, no matter who plays there.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 24, RAMS 13

The Rams are going to have their hands full this weekend against the Eagles.  The Rams do have the capability of pulling an upset in this game but they are going to have to make sure they don’t make many mistakes.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are going to try to run the ball right down the Eagles’ throats in this game.  Look for Steven Jackson, Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood all getting carries in this game and touches in the passing game too.  Jackson will carry most of the load as the Rams’ will likely attack the middle of the Eagles’ D, where DTs Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon and rookie LB Casey Matthews roam.  The Rams want to control the clock with the running game in an effort to keep their own defense off the field.  The passing game will likely be of the short variety concerning WRs Mike Sims-Walker, Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson.  The Rams’ secret weapon offensively in this game is going to be rookie TE Lance Kendricks.  He matches up really well against the Eagles’ safeties so Sam Bradford will be looking for him early and often in this game.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Rams are going to have to bring a good pass rush off the edge in an effort to keep Michael Vick in the pocket.  DEs Chris Long, James Hall and OLBs Ben Leber and Brady Poppinga need to keep Vick from running around in the pocket and force him to get rid of the ball quickly.  He makes mistakes when rushed.  DTs Fred Robbins, Justin Bannan and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis are going to have to handle keeping Lesean McCoy in check and that’s not gonna be easy.  The Rams hope that corners Bradley Fletcher, Ronald Bartell and Al Harris are going to be up to the challenge of dealing with WRs Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant this Sunday.  Safeties Quintin Mikell and Craig Dahl are going to have to help the corners over the top, while still dealing with TE Brent Celek.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 23, RAMS 20

This should be a very interesting football game as the winner gets a home playoff game against either the New Orleans Saints or Atlanta Falcons.  The Rams got back on the right path beating the 49ers 25-17 last weekend.   They beat the Seahawks 20-3 in St. Louis in the first meeting of these teams.  The Seahawks have lost three games in a row by a combined 58 points!  The Seahawks 9 losses this season come by an average of 19.9 points with each of them coming by 15-34 points!  So they either win or get destroyed.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are likely going to come out running the ball against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 123.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  After the Rams establish a running game (and they will) look for Sam Bradford to take some shots down the field to Danario Alexander, Brandon Gibson and Laurent Robinson against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 257.1 yards passing per game.  The Seahawks have a decent pass rush so Bradford might have to settle for shorter passes to Danny Amendola and TE Daniel Fells in this game.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks are likely going to try to get the running game going early in this game.  That means the Rams’ D will have to key on Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch.  The Rams need to stop them to make the Seahawks have to pass the ball to beat the defense.  Matt Hasselbeck has been back at practice and he might be able to give it a go.  The Rams prefer to see his backup (Charlie Whitehurst) start at QB in this game.  WR Ben Obomanu is likely to be back this week and he is the top deep threat the Seahawks have.

PREDICTION:  SEAHAWKS 23, RAMS 20

If the Rams win out the last two weeks they will win the NFC West.  That will be easier said than done as the Niners beat the Rams 23-20 earlier this year in San Francisco.  The Rams have played solid ball in the Edward Jones Dome this year where they are 4-3.  The Niners are only 1-6 on the road this season but they can also win the NFC West title with two wins and some help.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams would be smart to put the ball in Sam Bradford’s hands and let him wing it around the field.  But in reality they are going to likely be balanced in this game.  Stephen Jackson will have to deal with LBs Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes and the rest of a solid front seven for the Niners which is only giving up 3.5 yards per carry.  The 49ers don’t exactly have a strong pass rush so Sam Bradford should have time to throw the ball.  The Niners are allowing 230.1 yards passing per game so there will be plays to be made in the passing game.  Look for Bradford to spread the ball around to a lot of receivers so the Niners won’t be able to key on anyone.

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Rams should go all out to stop Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon in this game and force QB Troy Smith to try to beat them with his arm.  The Rams’ safeties better be ready for the challenge as Smith likes to throw a lot to TEs Vernon Davis & Delanie Walker.  Smith might also take some deep shots down the field to WRs Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree  if he has time to throw the ball.  So the Rams will have to get after him with the pass rush.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 23, 49ERS 20

The Rams and Chiefs are both coming off disappointing losses but they are still in first place in their divisions.  That makes this a HUGE game for both teams.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams will probably come out running the ball with Steven Jackson against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 109.9 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  If that doesn’t work, then rookie QB Sam Bradford will take to the air.  Bradford doesn’t have a clear cut favorite receiver which makes it hard for teams to defend the Rams’ passing game.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Rams need to stop Jamaal Charles, plain and simple.  It won’t be easy though as Charles has rushed for 1,177 yards so far this year and he’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry.  If the Rams can slow down Charles a little bit then they can blitz the heck out of the Chiefs’ QB no matter who it is.  The Chiefs are hoping to have Matt Cassel back under center and they will have little chance of beating the Rams if he can’t go.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 21, CHIEFS 20

The Rams have won two games in a row (both on the road) as they are now tied for first place in the NFC West with the Seahawks making this a huge game for them.  The Saints are on a roll since losing to the Browns in Cleveland as they have won 5 games in a row.  They also need this game as they are 1 game behind the Falcons in the NFC South.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are going to try to run the ball and throw short passes in an attempt to control the ball and the clock.  The Saints are giving up 107.8 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so Steven Jackson should be able to find some running room.  The Saints also don’t have much of a pass rush (23 sacks) nor do they have big time playmakers (7 interceptions) in the secondary.  Sam Bradford should be able to make some plays down the field in this game.

When the Saints have the ball:  If the Rams can’t get a pass rush going this Sunday they are going to be in some trouble because Drew Brees has been on fire as of late.  The Rams are giving up 229.5 yards passing per game and they just don’t match up too well with the Saints’ receivers as Brees likes to move the ball around and keep a lot of WRs and TEs involved in the passing game.  The Rams will also have to deal with rookie RB Chris Ivory who has also been hot lately.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 28, RAMS 20