LOS ANGELES — Playing in front of their home crowd after consecutive weeks on the road, plus the opportunity to clinch the NFC West and a playoff spot are important motivating factors for the Rams this week.
But according to defensive end Kobie Turner, those considerations don’t comprise the main theme of the week.
The Rams (9-6), who lost to the Arizona Cardinals 41-10 in Week 2, are preparing for what Turner calls a “get back” game.
“I’m sure SoFi is going to be rocking and to have the chance to be able to send us into the playoffs, all of that stuff is cool and it’s added behind the scenes parts. But really the biggest thing is get back week,” Turner said after Tuesday’s walkthrough.
In the Week 2 blowout loss, the Rams gave up 231 rushing yards, the second-most they’ve allowed this season.
Cardinals running back James Conner totaled 122 rushing yards and a touchdown and quarterback Kyler Murray accounted for 59 yards on the ground.
But the Rams are a different team now than they were back in mid-September.
“That wasn’t the type of ball we wanted to put out, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We’ve grown so much from there, whether we’re talking about how to fit up the run, whether we’re talking about rush lanes and pocket integrity. Whether we’re talking about just how we attack. We’ve grown tremendously and we’re excited to have the opportunity to be able to show that.”
The Rams have put their words into action, winning four games in a row and eight out of their last 10 games.
But there may not be a more accurate test of that growth than Saturday’s matchup with a Cardinals team that shellacked the Rams the first time around.
And it starts with stopping the run, whether it’s Conner, Murray or the handful of other options Arizona has in the backfield.
“They have a lot of backs that are able to do a bunch of different things the way that they scheme it up,” Turner said. “If we go one for one on the edge, we’re not going to be doing a good job. If we get blown off the ball on double teams, we’re not going to be doing a good job, regardless of who it is.”
Conner, who left Sunday’s game between the Cardinals and Carolina Panthers with a knee injury, was estimated as a limited participant in Tuesday’s walkthrough according to the Cardinals’ injury report.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said Conner is one of the best running backs in the league and is the key catalyst for Arizona’s offense.
“He’s a guy, if he gets a seam, it’s watch out. If he gets a seam and he can run vertical, he is breaking tackles. He’s the guy that the whole energy of their offense comes out,” Shula said Tuesday. “As long as he has a helmet on, we’d expect to see the normal James Conner and we’ll be ready for that.”
“(No.) 6 is an incredible back. Obviously, he’s really hard to tackle, especially once he gets going running downhill. He’s one of the best backs in the league when he’s going downhill so we got to be able to stop that,” Turner said. “If we make the picture muddy in the backfield, he doesn’t have a chance to get a full head of steam and we’re able to stop him. But if he gets a full head of steam, then it’s a whole lot harder.”
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Stopping Conner and the Cardinals’ running game will be crucial if the Rams want to take another step closer to locking up a playoff spot.
But as important as adding another win in the standings is, it’s the “get back” theme this week that’s been pushing the Rams toward the finish line.
“It’s get back week, that’s the mentality. That’s the music we’re playing in the locker room. That’s what I woke up to,” Turner said. “Christmas is great and all, I’m excited, but we’re in the building this week and it’s about getting our get back.”