The Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay will face off against one of his former assistants, Matt LaFleur, on Monday Night Football this week. LaFleur has a split 1-1 record against his former head coaches in 2022, as his Green Bay Packers did well against Dan Quinn’s Dallas Cowboys defense but struggled against Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans a week later.
The Rams’ season is functionally over, as they have less than one-tenth of a one percent chance to make the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight. The Packers have a six percent chance to make the postseason, according to the same model, with an expected rise to eight percent if Green Bay wins on Monday.
The Packers opened up as eight-point favorites on DraftKings this weekend, with a -325 moneyline that carries an implied probability that Green Bay wins the game 77 percent of the time. Odds are in LaFleur’s favorite in this matchup, but new Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield caught on fire at the end of the game last week against the Las Vegas Raiders to give Los Angeles a late come-from-behind win. If defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s defense doesn’t step up, it could be time to look in another direction.
The big injuries to watch for this week in Green Bay are to left tackle David Bakhtiari, receiver Romeo Doubs and safety Darnell Savage. Bakhtiari had an emergency appendectomy two Fridays ago, which led to him being held out against the Chicago Bears. With the bye week following the Bears game and LaFleur not speaking to the media on Monday, there have been no updates, as of yet, if Bakhtiari can play this week. Should he miss playing time, rookie fourth-round pick Zach Tom — who has made three starts this season — would replace him.
Doubs was expected to play a limited amount of plays against the Bears, his first action since Week 9 against the Detroit Lions, but ended up not being ready once the team tested out his anke in pre-game. Doubs should be expected to go this week, but we’ve seen weirder things happen in 2022. Savage, who left the Philadelphia Eagles game with a foot injury on the first defensive drive, was replaced in the starting lineup by safety Rudy Ford before going down with an injury. It’s uncertain if Savage will start if he is healthy.