St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks: Complete Week 7 Preview

The St. Louis Rams (1-4) will host the Seattle Seahawks (3-2) for their second consecutive home game. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET this Sunday, and the game will be televised on Fox for local broadcasting as well as channel 709 for DirecTV. 

Apparently, it's not getting any easier for the troubled Rams. Fresh off a humiliating Monday night prime-time loss to the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis will now face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in a game that promises to be virtually unwinnable based on what we've seen from the Rams this year.

Then again, nothing is guaranteed in the NFL. No game is entirely predictable, which means the Rams will have to approach this game confident and ready to win. 

This article will highlight the upcoming game by looking at the latest headlines, reviewing the key factors and making a prediction. 

Also, be sure to stop by on Sunday to follow the live blog, which will provide score, commentary and analysis throughout the game. 

Week 6 Recap

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The Rams got off to a superb 14-0 lead over the 49ers in the the first half, but as usual, St. Louis was unable to finish the game and suffered a 31-17 loss. 

The Rams allowed a big play just before half that changed the momentum, just as they did against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3. This time, it was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lloyd with just 25 seconds left in the half. The play made it a one-score game and completely tipped the scales. 

St. Louis relinquished the lead in the third quarter, just as it did against Dallas, and failed to get any second-half momentum going. The Rams are incapable of playing two productive halves of football in a single game, and this inconsistency has become the norm in St. Louis. 

Austin Davis had yet another shot at a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, but he once again came up short. Although, it's not necessarily his fault. It's ridiculous that Rams continue to put the game on the shoulders of a former undrafted prospect who is essentially a rookie—that's a quick recipe for a loss. 

And once again, the St. Louis defense—a group that was supposed to torment quarterbacks all year—failed to record a single sack. 

The Rams are on pace for 3.2 total sacks this season. Even if they triple that production and reach nine sacks on the year, St. Louis will still beat the 2008 Kansas City Chiefs (10) for the lowest team sack total in NFL history. (I sincerely hope the franchise didn't spend too much money printing out "Sack City" T-shirts.)

There's not much else to say regarding the 49ers game—Colin Kaepernick shredded the defense for career-high numbers (343 passing yards), the Rams' offensive line was useless and the discipline was nonexistent. 

The outlook is bleak for this St. Louis team. The potential high draft pick the Rams could earn from this horrendous season would be a silver lining, except we've seen what this regime can do with draft picks, and it's not pretty. 

News and Notes

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Janoris Jenkins Ready to Improve

Janoris Jenkins is the unfortunate soul who allowed San Francisco's Lloyd to break off the 80-yard touchdown Monday night, but the third-year cornerback is ready to move on. 

Jenkins initially refused to meet with the media following the loss to the 49ers, but he commented on the game two days later and accepted responsibility, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

“That was all on me,” Jenkins said. “I take full responsibility on that as a man. That’s what happened.”

Jenkins went on to add that it "won't happen again," and that "I'll be OK." 

We'll find out soon enough. Jenkins has always been a gambler in coverage, and opposing teams will get after him in the upcoming weeks in attempt to catch him off guard. 

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson Getting Close

The Rams could get some much-needed help in the secondary in the next week or so. 

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson sprained his knee against the Cleveland Browns during the preseason and could be close to a return after missing the first five games, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. 

According to Wagoner, Johnson did some work on the field this week and was officially listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. 

Getting Johnson back at any point over the next two weeks would be a major boost at the cornerback position. 

Jeff Fisher Staying Positive

The Rams are off to a very sloppy 1-4 start and have suffered three consecutive losses. Jeff Fisher is obviously unhappy with that, but he's ready to move on from the loss to San Francisco, per the official St. Louis Rams website. 

"There were a lot of good things in this game," said Fisher, referring to the 49ers game. "Outstanding individual efforts."

Fisher did not seem too rattled in the press conference video and instead laid out three words of confidence: "We'll bounce back." 

It's unlikely that the fans share Fisher's resilience, but it's always a positive when the leader of a team can keep it together and stay focused.

Injury Report

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The following injury report is from StLouisRams.com. Be sure to check back closer to kickoff for a more up-to-date report. 

Injury Report

C Tim Barnes (Shoulder): Did not participate. 

DL Alex Carrington (Knee): Did not participate. 

CB Tru Johnson (Knee) Limited Participation

OL Barrett Jones (Back): Full participation 

CB Brandon McGee (Foot): Limited Participation

WR Austin Pettis (Ankle): Did not participate. 

RB Chase Reynolds (Thigh): Limited Participation

RB Zac Stacy (Ankle): Did not participate. 

DL Ethan Westbrooks (Hand): Did not participate. 

X-Factors and Matchups

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Rams Pass Rush vs. Seattle Offensive Line

The Rams currently rank dead last in the NFL in sacks (one), and the Seattle offensive line had struggled against the pass rush. So this will be an intriguing matchup. 

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson has already been brought down 11 times in five games. That's quite high for a mobile quarterback capable of escaping intense pressure. 

Of course, the Seahawks can always neutralize the St. Louis pass rush with quick passes. That has been the strategy of basically every St. Louis opponent this season, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been unable to adjust. The talented Rams defensive line has been completely neutered as a result. 

If the Rams can somehow jam up the Seattle receivers and buy a few more seconds, they can capitalize on the sloppy Seattle pass protection and have a major advantage. 

Rams' Front Eight vs. Marshawn Lynch

St. Louis' front eight has played much better against the run in recent weeks, but the dangerous Seattle run game will be the ultimate test. 

The Rams managed to hold Frank Gore of the 49ers—who's usually a handful for St. Louis—to just 38 rushing yards on 16 carries. The San Francisco backs averaged just 1.9 yards per carry on average. 

This upcoming matchup with the Seahawks will let us know if the improved St. Louis run defense is legitimate or just a mere fluke. 

The Seahawks have the No. 2 rushing attack in the NFL with 149.8 yards per game, and Marshawn Lynch appears to be in good form. 

Lynch continues to be a nightmare for defenses. He currently ranks 11th in the league with 367 yards and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Wilson is also contributing an average of 44.2 rushing yards per game, and the two-headed monster of Lynch and Wilson is difficult to defend. 

If the Rams can somehow manage to contain the run game, they'll contain the entire Seattle offense. 

Austin Davis vs. Legion of Boom

Considering he was once the fourth-string quarterback this preseason, Austin Davis has been excellent for the Rams. However, he plays the game like a true gunslinger, and that could be problematic against a talented Seattle secondary. 

Davis makes a lot of risky throws and takes a lot of chances. It allows him to get lucky against lesser defensive backs, but that won't fly against Super Bowl veterans like Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. 

This game will be a nice challenge for Davis. It will be a chance for the Rams to see if he can cut back on the cowboy throws and instead make intelligent, calculated decisions under pressure. 

This lost season has become all about evaluating the youngsters, and this will be a great opportunity for the Rams to see if they have something in Davis. 

Prediction

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The Seahawks are a formidable challenge for the Rams, and there's no logical reason that suggests St. Louis could come out on top. 

The Rams had a dominant first half against Dallas and secured a 21-0 lead at one point, but they choked away the second half and lost the game. The following week, St. Louis produced an excellent second half against the Philadelphia Eagles and nearly came back from a 34-7 deficit, but it came up short thanks to a miserable first half. 

The latest debacle came against the 49ers. St. Louis had a comfortable 14-0 lead in the opening half, but a disastrous second-half performance relinquished the lead and allowed San Francisco to escape with a win. 

If the Rams can't capitalize on a 14-0 or 21-0 lead and secure a win, how can anyone reasonably expect them to secure a win in any scenario, especially against a juggernaut team like Seattle? St. Louis has been completely and utterly incapable of playing two solid halves in one game, and there's no reason to believe that we won't see similar inconsistency against the Seahawks. 

Football is unpredictable, but there are some inevitable certainties any Rams fan can count on this Sunday:

• There will be demoralizing penalties at critical moments. 
• There will be a backbreaking play that cripples any positive momentum the Rams establish. 
• Different units will take turns excelling and failing. At no point will every group excel like a well-oiled machine. 
• Any lead will be short-lived. 

Obviously, anything is possible. The Seahawks could implode and have their worst game of the season. Or perhaps Seattle will overlook this game and be caught off guard. 

However, the Rams have done nothing this season to indicate that they're up for this challenge. A victory for St. Louis would be considered a total surprise and a monumental upset for Seattle. 

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 38, St. Louis Rams 17

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and serves as the Rams' game-day correspondent. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or by following him on Twitter.