LOS ANGELES RAMS (4-9) at GREEN BAY (5-8)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Packers by 6½
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Rams 5-7-1, Packers 5-8
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 48-47-2
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Rams 36-28 on Nov. 28, 2021, in Green Bay
LAST WEEK: Rams beat Las Vegas Raiders 17-16 at home on Dec. 8; Packers were off last week after winning 28-19 at Chicago on Dec. 4.
RAMS OFFENSE: OVERALL (31-T), RUSH (30), PASS (25), SCORING (29)
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (12), PASS (16), SCORING (23)
RAMS DEFENSE: OVERALL (13), RUSH (5), PASS (21), SCORING (16)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (18), RUSH (30), PASS (5), SCORING (21)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams minus-6, Packers minus-2
RAMS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Baker Mayfield. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft had practiced just once with his new team before rallying them to a dramatic victory over the Raiders in his Rams debut. With usual starter Matthew Stafford unlikely to play the rest of the season with a spinal cord bruise and John Wolford out Monday because of a neck bruise, Mayfield gets a chance to build on his momentum as he attempts to rejuvenate his career.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB A.J. Dillon. The forecast calls for single-digit temperatures Monday night at Green Bay, and Dillon’s bruising style typically thrives in those conditions. Dillon has come on strong lately with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries over his past two games.
KEY MATCHUP: Packers WR Christian Watson vs. Rams CB Jalen Ramsey. Watson has scored eight touchdowns (seven receiving, one rushing) over his past four games. The rookie second-round pick from North Dakota State likely will spend at least part of the game lining up against Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro. Watson has shown he can make big plays even when he doesn’t get open. Watson clinched the Packers’ victory at Chicago with a 46-yard touchdown run on an end-around.
KEY INJURIES: Packers OT David Bakhtiari will miss a second straight game as he recovers from an appendectomy. … Packers WR Romeo Doubs is expected to play Monday after missing four games with an ankle injury. … Rams DT Aaron Donald will miss a third straight game with a high ankle sprain. Rams DT Marquise Copeland (ankle), LB Travin Howard (hip), DB David Long Jr. (groin) and Wolford also have been ruled out.
SERIES NOTES: The Rams can tie the series with a victory Monday. Green Bay took the lead by beating the Rams at Lambeau Field last season. Aaron Rodgers threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score in that game. The Packers have won seven of their past eight matchups with the Rams. The Packers are 6-1 against the Rams in games that Rodgers has started. That includes a 32-18 NFC divisional playoff victory during the 2020 season. The Rams’ only victory in their past eight meetings with the Packers was a 29-27 triumph at home in 2018.
STATS AND STUFF: This is the Packers’ first home game since a 27-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17. They lost at Philadelphia and won at Chicago before having last week off. … The Packers’ victory at Chicago allowed them to overtake the Bears for the most regular-season wins by any NFL franchise. The Packers have 787 wins. It’s the first time since 1921 the Bears didn’t have at least a share of the lead in that category. … This is the NFL-leading 30th consecutive season in which the Packers have played a Monday night game. The Packers have won their past five Monday night games. … Watson is only the second NFL rookie receiver to score eight touchdowns from scrimmage in a four-game span. The other was Minnesota’s Randy Moss in 1998. Watson’s seven touchdown catches lead all rookies this season. … Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon has at least 100 yards in kickoff returns in four straight games. The only other Packer to do that since 1941 was Steve Odom in 1975. Nixon also had his first career interception in his most recent game. … Packers OLB Justin Hollins was claimed off waivers from the Rams on Nov. 24. Hollins has one sack and two tackles for loss in two games with Green Bay. … The Rams will attempt to avoid joining the 1999 Denver Broncos as the only defending Super Bowl champions to lose 10 games. … Los Angeles is expected to have the same starting offensive line group for three straight games for the first time this season, although C Brian Allen is practicing lightly to manage his thumb injury. … Tyler Higbee needs two touchdowns to become the Rams’ career TDs leader among tight ends, but Higbee has yet to score this season. … LB Bobby Wagner needs eight tackles to become ninth in NFL history in regular-season tackles. … Rams WR Ben Skowronek didn’t leave the field in the previous game against the Raiders, taking every offensive snap. He had career highs of seven catches for 89 yards. … Mayfield’s next passing TD will be the 100th of his career. … The Rams are still the NFL’s second-least-penalized team this season despite committing 16 penalties in the past three games.
FANTASY TIP: Rams RB Cam Akers has been a major disappointment this season, but has shown signs of life lately by rushing for three touchdowns over his past two games. He could have a breakthrough performance in the cold against Green Bay’s porous run defense.
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