How To Induce Rams' Rival Worst Case Scenario

CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin named the worst-case scenarios for each NFL team and here's how the Rams can induce those scenarios for their rivals.

Arizona Cardinals: "Murray struggles to elevate the aerial attack without reliable secondary weapons, and Arizona can't keep up with the rest of the NFC West, finishing under .500 for the seventh time in the last 10 years," wrote Benjamin.

The good news is that the only exterior weapon Arizona has is Marvin Harrison Jr. The problem is that Harrison burned the Rams in both games played last season. Murray loves to target Harrison when Ahkello Witherspoon is on him, so the Rams may want to change it up while Murray can not operate an offense while under pressure if Trey McBride is forced to run routes more than five yards.

Force Murray to scramble backwards to sideways. Do not allow him to step up and find a gap between his linemen for him to run.

San Francisco 49ers: "Purdy's big-money extension draws fair critique as the quarterback struggles to shake hiccups while trailing, and continued bumps and bruises to McCaffrey and Co. leave Kyle Shanahan straining for answers."

Purdy's contract is one thing, but limiting McCaffrey is another. This may be a case of stacking the line of scrimmage, jamming George Kittle, emphasizing stopping McCaffery and force Purdy, Jauan Jennings, and Ricky Pearsall to beat you. The problem is that they can.

Seattle Seahawks: "Darnold quickly flames out, his more skittish tendencies coming to light behind a work-in-progress front, and coach Mike Macdonald can't squeeze enough out of his patchwork pass rush to sniff 2024's 10-7 finish."

Blitz Sam Darnold. That's it. Stack the line of scrimmage, scheme Jaxon Smith-Njigba out of the game, force Darnold to go to Cooper Kupp, and by the time Darnold finds him, he's on the ground.

As violent as this is, even if Darnold starts to dissect the Rams, keep putting him on the floor. He will not be able to consistently throw accurately if he endures punishment. That may force the Seahawks to use Jalen Milroe and then do they exact opposite when Milroe is on the field.

Make Milroe throw from the pocket, bring pressure occasionally, but mix up coverages so he starts to get happy feet before plays develop.