Rams Star Predicted to Take Advantage of Ravens Matchup

The Baltimore Ravens have rapidly approached the make-or-break portion of their season, tasked with lining up against their fifth recent playoff-participant in six weeks in the Los Angeles Rams.

What would otherwise be hyped as a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the game now pits a potentially-Lamar Jackson-less Ravens team against one of the most precise field generals in the game in Matthew Stafford. Even as he creeps deeper into his 30s, he remains as dangerous as ever in commanding the Rams' dangerous scoring attack, and he now stands as the unfortunate factor between the Ravens' getting back on track or falling into a 1-5 death sentence.

The Ravens aren't just a bad team at the moment; their defense has already been done up by several previously-floundering offenses in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans in their previous pair of matchups, two losses in which little fight was put up against suddenly-thriving threats. Stafford and his army of weapons make for a particularly-frightening presence at a truly inopportune junction.

"He's playing some of his best football over the past two weeks, he's performing exceptionally on deep throws (fourth-ranked 133.7 passer rating on throws at least 20 yards downfield), and he has arguably the best No. 1-2 wide receiver combination in football in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams (209.7 fantasy points combined, 47.4 more than any other team's top two)," Tristan H. Cockcroft wrote.

"Now Stafford enters Week 6 with nine days' rest, facing a Ravens defense that is injury-ravaged and performing horribly through five weeks. DT Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), a key to their pass rush, is out for the season, and S Kyle Hamilton, CB Marlon Humphrey and LB Roquan Smith are all question marks. With all four sidelined last week, C.J. Stroud scored 28.76 fantasy points against the Ravens.

Los Angeles Rams Wide Receiver Puka Nacua, Running Back Kyren Williams and Quarterback Matthew Stafford — Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) celebrates with quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) and running back Kyren Williams (23) after scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Cockcroft's fantasy-focused evaluation makes no mention of star running back Kyren Williams, who, in all likelihood, will chew through the Ravens ground defense just as Texans duo Nick Chubb and Woody Marks did last week.

The Ravens have tried fortifying their defense this past week, bringing in a few veteran safeties in C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Alohi Gilman. The latter deal arrived at the expense of rotational edge rusher Odafe Oweh, so while they'll potentially take an even bigger step back as a pass-rushing unit, they have a prayer at disrupting more plays once Stafford makes his move.

The Ravens will need to be on their best behavior with their season in the balance heading into the bye week, as they're preparing for some of the steepest odds they've faced all fall.

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