The Rams are playing an opponent on Sunday that will be without its star quarterback and other noteworthy starters.
Sound familiar?
A week after the Rams lost to the seemingly undermanned San Francisco 49ers, they will travel to play the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank Stadium. Its the start of an extended road trip that will see the Rams remain in Baltimore to prepare for their Oct. 19 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
You can never go into a game and be like, Oh man, were about to walk over somebody, Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner said. Its all NFL guys. You dont bring your A-game for one time and youre going to get cooked.
The Rams found the hard way in a 26-23 overtime defeat by the 49ers. Backup quarterback Mac Jones carved up the defense with quick passes that staved off the pass rush and challenged linebackers and defensive backs.
Jackson is out because of a hamstring injury, so Cooper Rush is expected to start.
You have to remind yourself its any given Sunday, safety Quentin Lake said. Youre sometimes like, Oh man, Lamars out or whoever their top-tier players are. But now the guys coming in are even more hungry because they have to prove themselves. Theyre going to give it their all and they have nothing to lose.
The last time the Rams visited M&T Bank Stadium, they lost when the Ravens returned a punt for a walk-off touchdown.
Special teams are once again an issue for the Rams.
They have had four kicks blocked this season, including an extra-point attempt in the loss to the 49ers.
Rams: ILB Omar Speights (ankle, doubtful), OL Rob Havenstein (ankle, doubtful), TE Colby Parkinson (concussion, questionable), WR Tutu Atwell (hamstring, questionable).
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring, out), CB Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring, out), T Emery Jones (shoulder, out), ILB Roquan Smith (hamstring, out), FB Patrick Ricard (calf, out), WR Devontez Walker (oblique, out), WR Zay Flowers (shoulder, questionable).
The Rams and Ravens will play at 10 a.m. PDT Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game will be shown on Fox in the Los Angeles area and will be available nationally via a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. In Southern California, fans can listen to the game on 710 AM and 1330 AM (Español).
Gary Kleins pick: The Rams defense is not going to get beat by a backup quarterback for the second game in a row. Despite a rainy forecast, Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua will continue their hot starts.
Rams 27, Ravens 20
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.