Los Angeles Rams: Staff predictions vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Los Angeles Rams are in primetime yet again as the team hosts the 8-2 Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.

A week after winning an ugly game on Sunday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Rams are again in primetime as they host the 8-2 Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football.

The Ravens have looked like the best team in the league over the last month, beating three current playoff teams by 14 or more points while sprinkling in a demolishing of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Meanwhile, the Rams have not been the same dominant team that they were a year ago and probably need to win five of their last six games in order to even make the playoffs. They can do worse if the Minnesota Vikings or Seattle Seahawks collapse, but with easier schedules, I would not expect it.

This is a huge game for the Rams against a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Here is how the LA Sports Hub staffs see the game going down.

Jamaal Artis (11-4): 34-7, Baltimore Ravens

The Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl hangover tour ends on Monday night. The Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens in primetime and will showcase their terrible offense against an improved Ravens defense who have allowed their opponents and average 14.6 points over their last five games.

Even with the return of their stout defense, the inept Rams offense will guarantee another Ravens win and further showcase quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Hil Lopez (9-10): 27-20, Baltimore Ravens

The Rams take on the Ravens on Monday night with their playoff chances on the line. With the Seahawks and Vikings having eight wins, the Rams can’t afford to suffer a loss to the Ravens.

Unfortunately, it won’t be that easy as Lamar Jackson is terrorizing the opposition with his passing and dual-threat running ability. Furthermore, the Ravens defense has played lockdown defense the last couple of games and Marcus Peters returns to his former teams stomping grounds.

The Rams should get Brandin Cooks, and possibly Robert Woods this Monday. However, that will not be enough as Jackson has proven to be too much for defenses to handle.

Redan Lopez (8-9): 35-32, Baltimore Ravens

The Rams are in for a fight for their lives this Sunday. The Ravens have unstoppably lately, riding a six-game winning streak and winning against some great teams like New England, Seattle, and Houston.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, in particular, has been a menace via the passing game and on the ground. Jackson has not thrown an interception in the last five games and thrown for eight touchdowns in his last three games. He also comes in as the top rusher of all quarterbacks this season.

Jackson will be a handful for the Rams to handle; he is a dynamic threat that is fun to watch as a fan, but hard for a defense to figure out because of his unpredictability.

Good news for the Rams is that they will have wide receivers Brandin Cooks (concussion) and Robert Woods (personal) back for Quarterback Jared Goff to throw to. Despite the offensive additions, the Rams just do not resemble the threat that they were last year.

Goff has had an intense pressure put on him the last month, especially with the running game not as robust as it used to be. It is true that star running back Todd Gurley had a great game last week against the Bears with over 100+ all-purpose yards (25 rushes for 97 yards), but can it continue?

It needs to if the Rams are to even think of having long-term success, much less against a high-powered Ravens offense.

This game should be one of the most entertaining of the week with the Ravens and Rams going back and forth offensively, but I think that Jackson is just too much for the Rams to handle and do not have the answer for him.

Jason Reed (10-11): 21-17, Baltimore Ravens

I think this game goes against everything people could expect. Some expect a shootout, with the Los Angeles Rams high-octane offense returning against the seemingly unstoppable Ravens offense.

Some people also expect a blowout with the Ravens doing to the Rams what they have done the last four weeks and win the game by two or more possessions. For those optimistic Ram fans, a close win is probably expected as well.

The last thing that anyone seems to expect from this game is a low-scoring, close battle, and I think this is what we will get. Jared Goff will continue his struggles in primetime against a proven defense, that is almost a given.

As for the Ravens, they come up against a good Rams’ secondary and the best pass-rusher in the league in Aaron Donald. Cory Littleton will be the difference in the second level and the Rams will take a similar gameplan to the Los Angeles Chargers and crack the code to limit (not stop) Lamar Jackson.

However, in the end, it will not be enough as the Ravens’ three touchdowns will be enough to get past another shoddy performance from Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams offense.