Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in St. Louis' Week 13 Contest with Oakland

The St. Louis Rams have become far more competitive after their hapless 1-4 start to the season. In the last six games, the Rams have gone 3-3, picking up big wins over Seattle, San Francisco and Denver while also having a close game with San Diego.

The Rams seem to have revamped since the middle of October, despite playing without Sam Bradford and going through multiple changes under center.

If St. Louis’ upcoming opponent, the Oakland Raiders, could offer advice to NFL fans, it is to never assume anything in the NFL. The Raiders are a perfect example of that after upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs 24-20 last Thursday night to pick up their first win of the season after going 0-10 and not winning a game through the past 12 months.

At 4-7, the Rams and Raiders have some similarities. Both teams have struggled this season but have shown that they can compete, and both have even beaten some of the best teams in the NFL.

Even though it will be 10 days by the time this game begins, the Raiders are still excited over their win against the Chiefs and want to carry that over by beating another Missouri team across I-70.

RB Latavius Murray vs. Rams Rush Defense

The Raiders are 32nd in running the football, but they looked far from it last week on Thursday Night Football when Latavius Murray ran four times for 112 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury. He is listed as questionable for this week against the Rams.

If he is available, Oakland will use him against a Rams defense that has allowed nearly 116 yards per game.

Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams needs to make sure his defense is ready and won’t be overconfident when the Raiders look to try again with Murray.

Murray played a big hand in Oakland’s surprising win last week, helping the Raiders get off to a 14-0 start.

WRs Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey vs. CBs Larry Asante and Tarell Brown

St. Louis’ receiving corps are underrated and have not had much of a chance to showcase their talents due to the myriad amount of quarterback changes since the preseason. Recently, Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey have stepped up.

Against the Broncos two weeks ago, Britt showed some flashes when he has success in his early years with the Titans after he caught four passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Last week in the narrow defeat to the Chargers, Bailey pulled in seven catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Although Tavon Austin has yet to light it up this year, you can never count him out, either.

The Raiders rank 12th in the NFL against the pass, but that number comes off misleading, as most teams have run the ball more than they have thrown it against the Raiders throughout the season. Teams have thrown the ball 364 times against the Raiders in 2014, which is the seventh-fewest in the NFL. Oakland has allowed 7.3 yards per play through the air, ranking it 16th.

Oakland will have Larry Asante and Tarell Brown work against the wide receivers. The Raiders hope to have Carlos Rogers back for this game for additional help at cornerback as he has been inactive due to a knee injury.

Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown have been relatively quiet and have not made many plays this season. Those two cornerbacks will have their hands full if Shaun Hill can be accurate with his receivers.

RB Tre Mason vs. Raiders Rush Defense

If there was ever a time for the Rams to go run-heavy, it should be this week against a Raiders team that is 25th against the run, giving up more than 126 yards each week.

Rookie Tre Mason recorded his first 100-yard rushing game two weeks ago in the big win against the Broncos and can have another big game on the ground against the Raiders.

Mason became active since Week 6 against the 49ers and has seen some improvement over time. He has averaged exactly 3.9 yards per carry in the last two games and should be able to get that to go above the 4.0 mark following the game against the Raiders.

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