Week 10: Los Angeles Rams

[Edman]

LA comes to town Coming off a bye at 5-3. The Rams need no introduction. Defending NFC Champions. They are absolutely star-studded and stacked on Offense and Defense.

Offense is loaded with playmakers like Gurley, Robert Woods, and Cooper Kupp. Defense has Aaron Donald up front And Jalen Ramsey on the backfield. Jared Goff doesn’t stand out much, but he is no slouch.

On paper, the Steelers are outmatched at every position. The Rams likely have this idea that they will just show up and win on talent alone. Let’s hope whatever magic the Steelers had against the Colts continue. They have to find somehow, someway to win this game.

I’m going with 34-13 Rams.

[Fire Goodell]

30-20 Rams. Agree with Edman, on paper these guys have more talent, and adding Ramsey, this may be an ugly game for Rudolph. They could have a chance if Conner comes back and is healthy.

[86WARD]

I think this one could be ugly. It’s going to come down to Rudolph and Keith Butler. Butler is going to have to confuse Sean McVay it at the very least delay his relay of the defense to Goff. Goff doesn’t know how to read defenses and if Butler can confuse/trick McVay, they have a chance at stopping the Rams offense...that offense really isn’t THAT much better than the Steelers offense. It’ll come down to defenses.

I’ll go 27-10 Rams.

[HollywoodSteel]

Well, we're at home. That's the only factual positive I see.

We just can't afford to absorb any bad calls by the refs or the ball not bouncing our way in this one. And we can't afford to have our receivers dropping anything catchable anymore. We need the little things to just go right.

I'm going to use the transitive property of "shoulds" to try to justify a positive prediction. We should have beaten the Seahawks, and 49ers, who both beat the Rams. And since we finally found a way to dong ourselves out of another last minute close defeat, I'm thinking we can ride that wave and dong our way to victory over the Rams.

We need at least one TD on defense, or least turnovers that set us up in the red zone.

26-24 Steelers.

[Steeler-in-west]

Rudolph and Washington/Johnson are going to have to generate passing yards and points, along with Conner hopefully in order to take the pressure off the defense.

maybe not likely but possible.

juju will probably be covered by Ramsey -

I always like the Steelers at home, going to depend on more from Rudolph and the receivers though.

[steel striker]

Going to tough to win this one but, they at home what the heck steelers win 27-20. Hey if the Chargers beat Packers why not?

[AtlantaDan]

About the only factor in favor of the Steelers is being at home - do not even get the benefit of a West Coast team going east with what for them is playing in the morning with a standard 1 pm ET kickoff

The three game winning streak preserved interest in a long shot playoff possibility but that streak ends this week

Looking on the bright side if the Steelers fall behind by more than one TD maybe Rudolph will have to be allowed (or it is his choice forced) to show what he can do in a typical NFL passing offense

31-17 Rams

[DesertSteel]

I suppose that everyone who was picking the Colts last week (quite a few), will be picking the Rams this week.


Steelers 23-19

[st33lersguy]

More star players, better coaches. Star defensive players that can shut down the offense. The only area I think the Steelers can have success is TJ Watt and co. flustering Goff and forcing him into a few turnovers

[Fire Goodell]

I suppose that everyone who was picking the Colts last week (quite a few), will be picking the Rams this week.


Steelers 23-19

Oh I think they have a chance to win, but I won't be too disappointed if that's not the outcome. If they can pressure Goff and establish a running game then I think they have a good chance. They have to make it a low scoring physical affair, I don't like their chances if Rudolph has to win it with his arm and throw 30+ times. The Rams secondary scares me now after adding Ramsey, and we all know about Donald. Their defense will be a big test for this team, probably the best squad they've played against since NE.

[Steeler-in-west]

Oh I think they have a chance to win, but I won't be too disappointed if that's not the outcome. If they can pressure Goff and establish a running game then I think they have a good chance. They have to make it a low scoring physical affair, I don't like their chances if Rudolph has to win it with his arm and throw 30+ times. The Rams secondary scares me now after adding Ramsey, and we all know about Donald. Their defense will be a big test for this team, probably the best squad they've played against since NE.

yeah, it has to be low scoring for the Steelers to have a chance. But Rudolph is going to have to throw downfield (10+ yard passes) to open up the running game. 15 dump offs to the RB is not going to work

[Mojouw]

Rudolph is going to have to make several big plays to either Johnson or Washington. Got to figure the Rams have Ramsey follow Juju.

Donald can be a wrecking crew and their edge rushers are solid.

Ball is going to have to come out accurate, fast, and into tight windows to have sustained success against the Rams.

[ALLD]

Steelers had their Super Bowl on Sunday. Rams are gonna run up the score like it's the Dow Jones.

[pczach]

The Rams and Ramsey have been watching Rudolph and this Steelers offense stay away from cornerbacks by throwing the ball to backs. Maybe they gamble more and come downhill to help tackle the catch underneath. It can create some opportunities for big plays down the field.

This team has shown a lot of fight, and the defense has been terrorizing quarterbacks. The Rams haven't been dominating people. There's no reason to think that they can't play with the Rams or that they'll get blown out...particularly at home.

It would be nice to see Rudolph do a little more and maybe show a little more mastery of his craft. Throw the ball more on time. Use better footwork and step into throws. Make more down the field throws. It will be important to see the offensive line have some success running the ball, and making sure Aaron Donald doesn't single-handedly destroy the offensive gameplan.

I'm sure Goff is cramming for his exam with Minkah this week. He has become a problem for opposing quarterbacks.

[Born2Steel]

The Colts couldn’t run their power run game against the Steelers defense. I don’t think the Rams will either. This cones down to defensive plays and turnovers. Steelers win in another tough home stand.

Steelers 24
Rams 23

[AtlantaDan]

The Rams haven't been dominating people.

True in terms of when they play a competitive team - close victory @ Carolina in the season opener is probably their best win (the 17 point home win over the Saints was when Brees was injured during the game). Easy wins over the Falcons in Atlanta and Bengals in London the past two games but those are two of the worst teams in the league.

After the Bears slowed the Rams down late last season and Belichick shut them down completely in the Super Bowl teams have been stacking the line of scrimmage with six man fronts.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2019/9...six-man-fronts

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/70615...-rams-week-5/?

Not certain if/how the Steelers might try something similar to jam up the Rams running game since their base defense is the 3-4 and quality defensive line depth is lacking after Tuitt went down.

But with a bye week to work Ramsey into the defense and the coaching skillz of McVay & Wade Phillips I have a bad feeling about this game

[Edman]

Rudolph is going to have to make several big plays to either Johnson or Washington. Got to figure the Rams have Ramsey follow Juju.

Donald can be a wrecking crew and their edge rushers are solid.

Ball is going to have to come out accurate, fast, and into tight windows to have sustained success against the Rams.

Like we saw opening drive against the Colts, until Juju went full Moncrief that resulted in a turnover that killed any momentum and confidence in an offense that needs it. He did everything we asked him to. Rudy saw him and drove the ball downfield into a window, hit him right in the hands and it resulted in a pick. Indy kicks a field goal for an early lead.

We can point the finger at Rudolph and Fichtner all we want, but our receivers are a weak spot, and until our receivers start making plays downfield consistently, the offense will not scare anyone deep. Johnson and Juju can’t do their on and off disappearing acts, just as much as Rudolph needs to grow up overnight.

[DesertSteel]

The Colts couldn’t run their power run game against the Steelers defense. I don’t think the Rams will either. This cones down to defensive plays and turnovers. Steelers win in another tough home stand.

Steelers 24
Rams 23

Rams are averaging 3.9 on the ground. I say they stop the run and put a beat down on Goff with 6 sacks.

[Rotorhead]

The only good thing is we don’t need this game in the grand scheme of things. If we pull off a win, great. If not, not a big deal. I am hoping for nobody getting hurt and hopefully an improvement overall in team play from this game.

[Fire Goodell]

The only good thing is we don’t need this game in the grand scheme of things. If we pull off a win, great. If not, not a big deal. I am hoping for nobody getting hurt and hopefully an improvement overall in team play from this game.

Well I did say a couple weeks ago, if vs Indy / LAR, if they go 1-1 that'd be big. However, I will say if they do beat the Rams, this team is playoff bound. To go above .500 after starting off 1-4 would do a lot for the team's confidence. With a win this Sunday they have a not-so-hard road to 10-6. With a loss today I still see a 9-7 team, but not sure 9-7 makes the playoffs.

But with that said, honestly 9-7 playoffs or no, I'd be satisfied with considering the start to the season and losing Ben.

[DesertSteel]

The only good thing is we don’t need this game in the grand scheme of things. If we pull off a win, great. If not, not a big deal. I am hoping for nobody getting hurt and hopefully an improvement overall in team play from this game.

They're 4-4. Why wouldn't they need the win??

[AtlantaDan]

As for other players, Tomlin sounds indifferent to what happens with this guy - cannot imagine why that might be

[tube517]

Trey Edmunds hurt too?

We are down to Samuels and the RB that I don't know the name that was activated last week

[AtlantaDan]

Trey Edmunds hurt too?

In his media conference today Tomlin said Edmunds injured ribs

https://www.steelers.com/news/tomlin...y-update-nov-5

[tube517]

In his media conference today Tomlin said Edmunds injured ribs

https://www.steelers.com/news/tomlin...y-update-nov-5

[86WARD]

Could this game have a Steelers/Panthers type ass whooping narrative to it? Steelers on the Steeler End???

[tube517]

UG3 to IR.

Mickey Spillane to active roster.

[86WARD]

Blah.....

[Fire Goodell]

Probably to avoid him from being picked up, he wouldn't clear waivers

[Rotorhead]

They're 4-4. Why wouldn't they need the win??

Because of the remaining games, if there is one to lose, it would be this game against an NFC opponent. Losing this game would put them at 4-5, the rest of games are very winnable with the only difficult games (on paper) against the Bills and the Ravens.

Don’t get me wrong, I want them to win this game. But after the stats beat the Pats, the Div is almost out of reach now.