NY Jets: Stat Of The Week

The Los Angeles Rams are a team very much in the image of the New York Jets.  Both teams have talented defensive lines.  Both teams have one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Both teams turn the ball over too much, and both teams have struggled at times creating turnovers on defense.

The Rams have turned the ball over on offense a total of 14 times this year, and have at least one turnover in seven of the eight games they have played this year.  On defense the Rams started the year generating nine turnovers in their first four games.  Not coincidentally the Rams won three of those four games.

Since then the Rams have lost four straight games.  Again not coincidentally, the Rams stopped generating turnovers in this four game stretch.  Stat of the week: over the last four games the Rams have generated just one turnover on defense.

The formula for beating the Rams is simple, at least on paper: don't turn the ball over.  If you can play turnover free ball the Rams will sooner or later beat themselves.   They have a poor running game that should be shut down by the Jets excellent run defense.  The Rams have a poor quarterback in Case Keenum who will turn the ball over, and who in most games won't move the ball very efficiently.  If an opponent stays patient and waits for the opportunity, sooner or later the Rams will present a gift in the form of an offensive turnover or two.

That sounds like an easy way to win,  but unfortunately the Rams have a rugged defense and the Jets are extremely turnover prone themselves.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is if anything even more prone to turnovers than Case Keenum.   At least on paper this game presents as a war of attrition, with each side just trying to survive without turning the ball over.  In some games turnovers can be overcome with excellent offensive play.  In this game, with these quarterbacks, that isn't a very likely option.  So it boils down to this: can Ryan Fitzpatrick or Bryce Petty avoid turnovers against the Rams defense better than Case Keenum can against the Jets defense?  The answer will likely determine the outcome of this game.