St. Louis Rams vs. San Diego Chargers: What Experts Are Saying About St. Louis

The St. Louis Rams (4-6) will travel to the West Coast to take on the San Diego Chargers (6-4) Sunday, and the experts are starting to chime in and discuss this game. 

The Rams are coming off an encouraging 22-7 home victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, and the win will surely be a confidence booster for this young team moving forward. 

The Chargers are also coming off a victory, but the 13-6 win over the winless Oakland Raiders is hardly an accomplishment worth boasting about. San Diego should have escaped the Raiders with a convincing win, but the game was far too close for comfort, especially for a team hoping to spark a late-season run into the playoffs. 

If these two teams met early in the 2014 season, there's no question that the Rams would have been overwhelmed by San Diego. However, it appears San Diego is sinking just as the Rams are beginning to swim, so this is no longer a light game for the Chargers. 

This article will outline some of the comments from experts around the Web, and hopefully that will shed some light on the upcoming game and give us an idea of who the true favorite is. 

Pete Prisco of CBS: Chargers over Rams

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Pete Prisco of CBS released his Week 12 picks and has San Diego as the favorites over St. Louis: "The Rams have taken big steps forward on defense, impressing last week in shutting down Peyton Manning and the Broncos. The Chargers looked so-so against Oakland last week, coming off a bye, but get it going here. Philip Rivers gets back on track."

As for Philip Rivers getting back on track, it would be a lot easier to buy that if it wasn't reported this week that he's playing with bruised ribs and possible cartilage damage, per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. 

The Oakland Raiders' pass rush gave Rivers fits and held him to 192 yards passing—his second-lowest passing total of the season—so that does not inspire a lot of confidence considering he'll be facing a St. Louis defensive line that made Peyton Manning look average this past week. 

If the St. Louis pass rush is contained and Rivers has a comeback game, as Prisco predicts, the Rams will certainly be in trouble. However, considering the St. Louis defense has been on fire lately, Prisco might want to hold off on his Rivers prediction for another week or two.  

Eric Williams of ESPN: Chargers' Run Game Back on Track

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According to Eric Williams of ESPN.com, the return of San Diego running back Ryan Mathews from a Week 2 ankle injury re-energized the Chargers' run game against Oakland:

"

The Chargers’ physical running back returned Sunday in a 13-6 victory over the visiting Oakland Raiders. It’s no surprise the swagger the offensive line played with last season also made an appearance. Offensive linemen such as Chad Rinehart and D.J. Fluker were finishing blocks down the field and looking to spring loose Mathews for a few extra yards. 

"

Mathews ran the ball for a season-high 70 yards on 16 carries against the Raiders, and the Chargers finished the game with 120 total yards on the ground. 

The return of Mathews is a nice boost for the Chargers, but he'll be facing a revitalized St. Louis run defense that has been stingy in recent weeks. 

The Rams held Denver to a mere 28 yards on the ground. In fact, St. Louis' last three opponents, including the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, have averaged just 45.3 total rushing yards. 

If St. Louis shuts down Mathews and turns San Diego into a one-dimensional offense, it will be a rough outing for the Bolts. We saw last week what happened when the Broncos became a pass-only team against the St. Louis pass rush, and it was not pretty. 

Sports Illustrated: Rams Lack Consistency

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The Rams are riding high after their win over the Broncos, but as Sports Illustrated reminds us, this isn't the first time St. Louis has stepped up to the challenge only to struggle the following week: "Now the Rams (4-6) will try to claim back-to-back wins for the first time this season after they've followed recent victories over Seattle and San Francisco with blowout losses at Kansas City and Arizona."

The inability to win two consecutive games is an obvious side effect of the youth and inexperience that inflict the Rams. We've seen glimpses of the talent on St. Louis' roster and what it's capable of, but we have yet to see this group perform up to its potential on a regular basis. 

The game against San Diego is a chance to change that. The playoffs are probably out of the question for the Rams (though they are not mathematically eliminated), but if they can finish the season with consistency, they will earn a reputation as a team to be reckoned with in 2015. 

Sports Illustrated: Veteran Quarterback Is an Advantage for St. Louis

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The arrival of Shaun Hill as St. Louis' starting quarterback helped the Rams take down the Broncos, and Sports Illustrated agrees that the veteran quarterback play is an advantage: "Quarterback Shaun Hill made a positive impact in his first start since the opener, going 20 of 29 for 220 yards with one score. More importantly, he presided over the team's first turnover-free day since Week 7."

Third-year pro Austin Davis has been St. Louis' starting quarterback for the majority of the season, but it's been a shaky ride. Fourth-quarter turnovers against Dallas, Philadelphia and Arizona cost the Rams those games, and the absence of Davis' inevitable fourth-quarter turnover helped the Rams seal the deal over Denver. 

Davis had his promising moments as the starter, but since the St. Louis defense has been excellent lately, the Rams don't need his gunslinger antics—they need a game manager who can avoid needless turnovers. 

And that's what the Rams are getting with Hill. He's not as flashy as Davis, but he's better at managing the game and avoiding careless mistakes. He gives St. Louis a better shot at winning games, and that's the simple truth. 

Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com: Chris Long Making Progress

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The St. Louis defensive line has been on fire as of late, but it might be adding more ammunition to its arsenal. Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reported on Twitter that Chris Long is making progress following his Week 1 injury. 

"DE Chris Long continues to progress toward his return as well but no specific timetable yet," he wrote. "Doing more as he goes tough."

Long is an important part of the St. Louis defense. If the defensive line has been relentless without Long in the lineup, it's scary to think what this group can do when he returns. 

As Wagoner mentioned, there's no timetable on a return and no real indication he'll be playing against San Diego. However, if that is the case, the banged-up Rivers could be in trouble.