After starting the season 1-4, the Los Angeles Rams won three games before losing to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. After starting the season 1-6, the New England Patriots have won two of their last three games.
The Rams are coming off a disappointing loss, but the Patriots are fresh from a dominating win over the Chicago Bears. The two teams face off Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
While the Patriots do not have much to play for with a 3-8 record, they can undoubtedly play spoiler to the Rams’ division title and playoff hopes if they beat Los Angeles this upcoming Sunday.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News believes the Rams will be in for another hard-fought game, as playing on Monday Night Football takes a day or preparation away from Los Angeles.
Bender notes the Rams have not performed well on the road this season but desperately need a win against the Patriots. The Rams must prepare for a Patriots team that is beginning to gain confidence after improving over the last three games.
“The Rams are 1-3 straight up on the road this season, but the protection for Matthew Stafford has been better in the past four games,” Bender said.
“He took just one sack in three games ahead of the Monday Night Football matchup against Miami, and the defense is creating more turnovers.”
Bender credited Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye with a productive previous two games but noted the Rams’ defense is playing much better than the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans defenses the Patriots played most recently.
“Patriots rookie Drake Maye has a 66.7-percent completion percentage in his past two starts, but he will be forced to take more chances here if the Rams get ahead early,” Bender said.
The Rams must find a way to beat the Patriots on the road to keep up in the division and the playoff race. After starting the season 1-4, the Rams have less and less room for error with each loss. This is especially true with the streaking Arizona Cardinals on a four-game win streak.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Can the Rams Bounce Back from Disappointing Loss?.