Rams vs. Ravens: What's the Game Plan for Baltimore?

The Baltimore Ravens will conclude a three-game homestand this week when the St. Louis Rams come to M&T Bank Stadium for a Week 11 clash.

After losing in heartbreaking fashion last week, the Ravens are just trying to salvage what's left of this season in hopes of building for the future. There's virtually no hope of making it to the postseason or having as much as a winning season, but Baltimore still has plenty of work to do. 

After all, NFL teams aren't built in a single season. They're constructed over the course of many seasons through drafting and/or signing free agents and developing them to fit the roster. 

Looking at this current group, many of these Ravens are signed through next year, which means there's still plenty to work toward this year in hopes it helps makes future seasons more successful. 

Here's a look at this week's game plan for Baltimore as it hosts St. Louis.

Offensive Game Plan

The strength of the Rams lies in their pass rush. They are one of the league's best when it comes to terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. 

Coming into Week 11, St. Louis ranks fourth in total sacks (29) and sixth in pass defense and are tied for the fewest touchdown passes allowed (eight). Keeping Joe Flacco upright against them will be no easy task. 

In order to counteract the Rams' pass rush, Baltimore must utilize a quick-passing game that gets the ball out of Flacco's hands quickly. This also requires a lot of short and intermediate routes being run by receivers that allow them to get open quickly.

Gail Burton/Associated Press

One negative of this is that it prevents the Ravens from utilizing Flacco's biggest strength, which is his arm. When he has capable receivers who can get open deep down the field, he's one of the best in the business at getting the ball to them. 

However, injuries have depleted the receiver position, leaving Baltimore without any deep-threat receivers. Kamar Aiken, Chris Givens, Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams and Kyle Juszczyk have become the top pass-catchers.

All of them do their damage in the short-intermediate parts of the field. This means Baltimore going with more of a quick-pass attack isn't going to negate Flacco's arm strength since it's already not being used much.

Another way to beat the Rams defense is on the ground. Coming into Week 11, St. Louis ranks 17th in rushing defense. 

In their past two games, both of which were losses to the Vikings and Bears, the Rams have given up a combined 298 yards and three scores on the ground. This is an area where the Ravens need to attack early and often in this game, and they should do just enough offensively to come away with a win. 

Defensive Game Plan

After losing two straight and dropping to 4-5 this season, the Rams made a switch at quarterback in hopes of giving their enigmatic offense a spark. Instead of Nick Foles, the team will be going with journeyman Case Keenum versus the Ravens. 

This is great news for Baltimore, as Keenum has limited playing time under his belt and shouldn't be enough to upgrade the passing game, which ranks dead-last coming into Week 11. 

In 10 career games, Keenum has completed 182 of 330 passes (55.2 percent) for 2,195 yards (6.65 yards per attempt) and 11 touchdowns versus eight interceptions with seven fumbles. He also has just a 2-8 record in his career as a starter. 

Ironically, one of them came last year with the Texans against the Ravens, but that was more thanks to Houston's defense. That game saw Keenum complete just 20 of 42 passes for 185 passes with no scores and one interception.  

Jim Mone/Associated Press

He simply hasn't shown he can play well enough to beat a team like Baltimore on his own. That's why defensive coordinator Dean Pees must build a game plan that features a loaded box geared toward stopping the run and making Keenum beat the defense. 

Another reason why that's key is the Rams offense lives and dies on the back of rookie running back Todd Gurley. St. Louis drafted him out of Georgia with the 10th-overall pick in this year's NFL draft, and he's quickly become one of the NFL's best runners.  

Through seven games, Gurley has run the ball 130 times for 709 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. He's also chipped in 16 catches for 132 yards. 

Gurley is the go-to weapon of the Rams offense, and stopping him is the key to shutting that unit down. The good news is the Ravens have a great front seven that thrives against the run.

Entering Week 11, Baltimore ranks eighth in rushing defense and sixth in yards per rush allowed (3.8). Simply put, the Ravens need to stack the box and make Keenum be the one who beats them, because Gurley certainly has the ability to. 

Matchup To Watch

Ravens Front Seven vs. Rams Offensive Line

The Ravens have a chance to dominate this game in the trenches with their front seven against a porous Rams offensive line. Baltimore's defensive line of nose tackle Brandon Williams, defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and defensive end Chris Canty alone is hard to penetrate.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Making this front even more intimidating are inside linebackers C.J. Mosley and Daryl Smith. Smith ranks fifth in the NFL with 81 total tackles, while Mosley has 56 of his own. 

In terms of a pass rush, Baltimore has been getting production from its entire front seven. Smith and Mosley have combined for five sacks. Williams, Jernigan and backup defensive lineman Lawrence Guy have combined for 7.5. 

But it's still outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil leading the way with 4.5 sacks this season. He and the rest of the front seven will be charged with attacking a Rams offensive line that struggles to protect the quarterback. 

Pro Football Focus ranks St. Louis' offensive line 29th in pass-blocking efficiency and 24th in run blocking. 

This is a line the Ravens front seven absolutely should dominate in this game and keep the Rams offense from ever getting anything going. 

Prediction

The Ravens defense matches up well with the Rams offense, which leads to another good performance for Baltimore. The much-maligned secondary doesn't get tested much in this one as Keenum can't find any rhythm or consistency. 

As for Baltimore's offense, it will have a tough time penetrating St. Louis' defense but will do just enough to win a close defensive struggle with the Rams. 

Final Score: Ravens 20, Rams 17