The Los Angeles Rams have arguably their biggest game of the season in Week 14 as they travel to take on the division-rival Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
As things currently stand, the Cardinals lead the NFC West at 10-2 while the Rams are two games behind at 8-4. So if L.A. wants any hope of being able to win the division and hosting a playoff game, then they have to win this game to narrow the gap.
Additionally, arguably the worst Rams loss of the season came at the hands of the Cardinals in Week 4 when they fell 37-20 at home in a game that was never close. That marked the first time Sean McVay had lost to Arizona after starting off 8-0 against them in his first four seasons with the Rams.
It appears that loss is still on the minds of Aaron Donald and other Rams players. In an interview on Sirius XM Radio, Donald stated that he’ll have a little extra juice for the rematch on Monday night:
“I know everybody’s pumped up but I’m actually a little bit more pumped up after the way they beat us at our home field last game,” he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio Thursday. And it’s division game, so any time you play a divisional game, a team you play twice a year, you’re always going to be up for that game. It’s going to be a physical game. It’s time for some get back. That’s how I see it. It’s going to be a big game for us. We need this game to keep us in a position where we want to be, so we’ve got to take this like it’s a playoff game.”
Donald and other Rams defensive players being extra motivated is a good thing as they will have their work cut out for them against Kyler Murray and the high-powered Arizona offense.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Murray threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns while the Cardinals also rushed for 216 total yards as a team, averaging more than five yards per carry.
Donald has typically fared well against the Cardinals, recording 12.0 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 25 quarterback hits in 15 career games against them. The Rams will need that type of impact once again if they want to come away with a win on Monday night.
