STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
NFL Team Report - Los Angeles Rams
PLAYER NOTES --QB Jared Goff (9,166) needs 131 passing yards to pass Pat Haden (9,296) for ninth place and 211 passing yards to pass Vince Ferragamo (9,376) for eighth place on the Rams all-time passing leaders list. Goff needs 25 more completions to pass Sam Bradford (354, 2010) for the third-most single-season completions in franchise history. --WR Robert Woods (78) needs nine receptions to tie Isaac Bruce and Marshall Faulk (87) for the 10th-most single-season receptions in franchise history. Bruce holds the franchise record with 119 receptions during the 1995 campaign. --RB Todd Gurley II (1,251) needs 55 rushing yards to set a new single-season career high. He set his current high mark in 2017 with 1,305 rushing yards. Gurley (59) needs five receptions to set a new single-season career high. He set his current high mark in 2017 with 64 receptions. Gurley needs one rushing touchdown to match the Rams all-time single-season rushing touchdown record (Eric Dickerson, 18 1983). Gurley needs 187 yards to pass Elroy Hirsch (6,616) for ninth place on the Rams all-time yards from scrimmage leaders list. Gurley needs five touchdowns to tie Marshall Faulk (26, 2000) for the franchise record for single-season touchdowns. Gurley needs six points to tie Dickerson (348) for 13th place on the Rams all-time scoring leaders list. With Gurley's next 100-yard rushing game, he will tie Jerome Bettis (7, 1993), Faulk (7, 1999) and Steven Jackson (7, 2009) for the third-most single-season 100-plus yard rushing games in Rams history. --WR Brandin Cooks (72) needs 13 receptions to set a new single-season career high. He set his current high mark (84) as a member of the Saints in 2015. PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: DT Aaron Donald leads the NFL in sacks (16.5). Donald posted a career-best 4.0 sacks in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. L.A. is 16-0 since Sean McVay and Wade Phillips arrived in 2017 when Donald records a sack. Donald had three straight games with multiple sacks from Weeks 10-13 and has posted six multi-sack games on the season. Donald, who is in his fifth NFL season, has recorded at least 8.0 sacks in each of his first five NFL seasons, including a then career-best 11.0 sacks in 2015 and 2017. Former Rams DT and current radio analyst D'Marco Farr previously held the franchise record for single-season sacks by a defensive tackle (11.5). GAME PLAN: Simply put, the Rams need to get back to playing to the level they produced over the first 11 weeks of the season. That means Jared Goff playing more efficiently, the offensive line protecting him more effectively and blocking better for Todd Gurley II and the Rams as a whole limiting the back-breaking turnovers and penalties that have plagued them the last two weeks. If they do, they should have an easy time against the Cardinals, who have neither the personnel nor necessary sense of urgency to stay with the Rams if the Rams are on top of their game.MATCHUPS TO WATCH --Rams WR Robert Woods has played in 83 regular-season games with 73 starts through Week 15 of 2018. Established a career-best 171 yards receiving vs. Houston in a 2017 Week 10 win. Leads the team with 78 receptions and ranks second in receiving yards (1,106) which are both new single-season career high. He'll be squaring off vs. Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson, who is still a viable cover man and ball-hawking pass defender. --Rams OLB Dante Fowler Jr. is a fourth-year pro who has played in 45 games with five starts through Week 15 of the 2018 season, including four starts as a Ram. He joined the Rams via a trade before the 2018 trade deadline and has 24 career QB hits, 18 tackles for loss, 16.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries. Posted his first sack as a Ram, a strip sack, of Seahawks QB Russell Wilson setting up a touchdown in a 2018 Week 10 game. He'll primarily play vs. Cardinals LT Korey Cunningham, a rookie who has been pressed into duty the last month due to injuries and is still trying to find his footing in the NFL.
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