The Rams (5-10) take on the Chargers (9-6) as the road team at SoFi Stadium on New Year's Day, with kickoff Sunday scheduled for 1:25 p.m. pacific time on CBS.
Ahead of the contest, here are 3 Keys to Winning for the Rams, powered by The Wallace Firm:
Coming off their best rushing performance of the season, the Rams could use another productive day from their ground game. As noted in First Look, the Chargers have surrendered 127 or more rushing yards in 10 of their 15 games this season, so the opportunity is there on paper. That being said, it won't be easy – while one of those performances came this month, they also held the Colts and the Raiders to under 70 rushing yards in December.
It's been a rarity this season for quarterback Justin Herbert to have wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams on the field at the same time this year due to injuries battled by Allen and Williams, but he enters Week 17 with both healthy. Both are capable of going for 100 yards receiving and present challenges for opposing secondaries, Allen primarily because of his route-running and Williams because of his size and catch radius.
Then there's running back Austin Ekeler, who because of those injuries is actually the Chargers' leader in receptions with 99, showing how much of a threat their leader rusher can be as a target in the passing game.
For the Rams to have success on Sunday, they'll need to mitigate the impact those three have on the game.
That primarily points to turnovers, which did the Colts no favors in their 20-3 loss to the Chargers Monday night. Indianapolis had three – all interceptions by quarterback Nick Foles – which made it difficult for its offense to get into a rhythm. Two of those three turnovers led to 10 of the Chargers' 20 points.
The Rams used a similar complementary performance to quickly put away the Broncos in Week 16. This week, they'll need their offense to avoid making the same mistakes the Broncos and the Colts did.
