The Rams wrap up the road portion of their regular season schedule traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Sunday. Much like Week 16 against the Vikings, playoff implications are a factor for both teams this week.
In advance of the contest, here is your First Look at Rams-Ravens (10 a.m. pacific time, FOX):
Notable Ravens additions
- Signed T Alejandro Villanueva to a two-year deal in March: The veteran left tackle spent his first six seasons with division rival Pittsburgh before joining Baltimore this offseason. He was effectively brought in as the successor to Orlando Brown Jr., who the team traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 11 days earlier, and has started every game so far this season.
- Signed RB Devonte Freeman to practice squad on Sept. 10, then from practice squad to active roster on Sept. 16: Baltimore's running back rotation got hit hard by injuries in the preseason, losing its top two players in J.K. Dobbins and later Gus Edwards. Freeman was one of the free agent running backs they turned to, and he's given them 114 carries for 479 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games (seven starts) this season.
Top performers in Week 16
Filling in for injured QBs Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, QB Josh Johnson completed 28 of 40 pass attempts for 304 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Ravens' 41-21 loss to the Bengals.
Freeman led Baltimore's backfield with six carries for 17 yards and one touchdown.
S Tony Jefferson had nine total tackles and a sack for the Ravens' defense.
On special teams, K Justin Tucker made all three of his extra point attempts, while P Sam Koch averaged 44.3 yards per punt across three punts.
Early storylines to watch, and what they mean for the Rams
All eyes this week are on the health of the Ravens' quarterback room.
Jackson has been dealing with an ankle injury that forced him to miss the last two games and his status for Sunday's game is still uncertain. Meanwhile, Jackson's backup, Huntley, was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday.
The Rams have faced Jackson once before and are already aware of what he's capable of, and Huntley's nearly 300 total yards and four total touchdowns against the Packers back in Week 15 proved he's not to be taken lightly, either.
If either player plays, it's another important game for the Rams' pass rush, especially its edge defenders when it comes to keeping either of those quarterbacks contained.
Meanwhile, if you like kickers, this game will feature the NFL's two most accurate so far this season in the Rams' Matt Gay (league-leading 96.6 percent field goal percentage) and the Ravens' Justin Tucker (93.5 percent, second-highest).
