The Chargers are back from their bye week and resume their quest for their first win on Sunday, facing arguably the league's two most disappointing teams to date.
Here's what LA needs to do on defense to beat the Rams.
Reverse run game fortunes
Kyren Williams and Blake Corum combined for 192 rushing yards last week against the Raiders, the best performance the Rams' run game has been able to put together this season. LA runs man-concept runs at the highest rate in the league, however, and that's where the Chargers run defense has also been great: they allow the fifth-lowest success rate to man-concept runs in the NFL. Chris O'Leary's defense has also largely only been gashed by some of the best running backs in the league (Kenneth Walker III and James Cook come to mind),
so asserting that Williams and Corum fall under that bar would do wonders for the Chargers' chances on Sunday.
Clamp down on third down
The Rams have had a third-down problem for a few years now, even if the rate stats don't look too bad (LA is sixth in third-down conversion rate this season). Sean McVay's offense currently ranks 28th in EPA/play on third and medium and 21st in EPA/play on third and long, both areas where the Chargers' defense is about average. O'Leary's defense also only allows teams to convert 31.08 percent of their third downs, which is sixth-best in the league. If the defense can shut down the run game and force the Rams into third-and-longs, they should be able to get off the field fairly consistently.
Make other receivers beat you
With Davante Adams on injured reserve, things look bad enough around fourth-year receiver Puka Nacua that he was targeted 24 times against the Bills three weeks ago, and national pundits are theorizing about trades the Rams could make with their already-depleted cabinet of assets. Tarheeb Still has been having a fantastic season for the Chargers, however, and LA's best chance of slowing Nacua down might be to have Still follow him all game, with Derwin James Jr. likely out and Donte Jackson still working back from a hamstring injury. If Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington, and tight end Tyler Higbee make a few plays, the Chargers should be able to live with that as long as they can keep Nacua in check.
Bring the blitz
The Chargers have a 52.5 percent pressure rate when they blitz this season, which is second in the NFL, and the Rams look like they could be without starting center Coleman Shelton, who has not practiced yet this week with a hip injury. Matthew Stafford turned 38 in February and is not exactly the most mobile quarterback in the league, plus the Rams do not have plus talents in the passing game other than Nacua as previously detailed. Trying to heat Stafford up a bit and turn up the variance to give the Chargers' offense a short field might be what it takes to win on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers' defensive keys to victory vs. Rams in Week 8
