Random Ramsdom: New Rams uniforms?

‘That’s ugly as f***’: Rams and Broncos fall prey to hilarious prank as players are convinced they have to wear ‘trash’ festive uniforms for Christmas Day showdown... but one player jokes garish jersey is ‘kinda hot’ (dailymail)

“In a hilarious prank conducted by Broncos kicker Brandon McManus, Rams safety Nick Scott and CBS Sports, ugly Christmas sweater-style jerseys were paraded on a mannequin at Denver’s Englewood and LA’s Thousand Oaks facilities.

Thankfully for all involved, the jerseys are not going to be added to the Christmas Day calendar, and judging by reactions from both camps, that can only be a positive.

Newly minted Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield did a double-take when stumbling upon the LA uniform, including a yellow helmet with Christmas lights embossed on the traditional Rams horns.

Under-pressure Broncos signal-caller Russell Wilson also questioned whether Denver would in fact be wearing the eyesore of a uniform.”

Rams release Friday injury report ahead of matchup vs. Broncos (yahoo!sports)

“Los Angeles will be without no less than seven players, assuming no further complications between now and Sunday’s game. Long Jr. had no designation for game status and is likely to be able to play against Denver barring an unforeseen setback.

Denver had six-of-nine players on their report listed as questionable, which doesn’t provide much insight into which among them might be able to play. Kendall Hinton was the lone player listed as a definite out, while safety Kareem Jackson and long-snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer were full participants and will play against Los Angeles.

Both teams have had disappointing 2022 seasons and will be looking to deliver their fans a win on Christmas day to soften the blow of their horrendous overall records. The Broncos, led by longtime Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, won’t have the advantage of playing at their home stadium in the mile-high Denver, and neither team will have to bear the brunt of the brutally cold weather when they play in Los Angeles.

The Rams will be starting newly acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield in this game, and early indications are that he is picking up on coordinator Liam Coen’s offense quickly. It seems that Los Angeles will have a distinct advantage in this matchup, though their track record this season in winning against seemingly beatable opponents has not been stellar.

Watch for this game to make for great television as these struggling teams play for Christmas day glory in front of a huge television audience.”

Broncos Update RB Latavius Murray’s Status for Rams Matchup

“Analysis: You may have noticed that quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t even mentioned on the injury report because he cleared concussion protocol early this week. He’ll start on Sunday.

Keep an eye on two offensive players: Murray and Sutton. The former breathed life into the Broncos’ offense last week, rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown in victory, while the latter has missed the past two games with that hamstring.

Meanwhile, Jerry Jeudy has thrived at the X position in Sutton’s absence. If Sutton plays, it’ll be interesting to see whether the Broncos’ coaches return him to the X, or move him to the Z, and let Jeudy continue doing his thing.

At the X spot over the past two weeks, Jeudy has totaled 15 receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns, so... production talks and you-know-what walks.

The Gregory situation is concerning. He’ll be a game-time decision. In the wake of Gregory’s return from a nine-week stretch on injured reserve last week, head coach Nathaniel Hackett addressed it on Friday.”

Rams rule out seven players, including Aaron Donald, John Wolford (nbcsports)

“The Rams have ruled out seven players for their Christmas Day game against the Broncos. It continues a year of bad injury luck for Los Angeles.

Rams coach Sean McVay said earlier in the day that defensive tackle Aaron Donald‘s season likely is over. Donald was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain in a Week 12 game against the Chiefs and is ruled out again this week.

He has played 11 games and made 49 tackles and five sacks.

“He’s not cleared yet,” McVay said. “I don’t know that I see that changing in the next couple weeks.”

Quarterback John Wolford (neck) remains out of practice and won’t play Sunday. Baker Mayfield will start for the second consecutive game and play his third game for the Rams since they claimed him off waivers.

Starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is on injured reserve with a neck injury.

Receiver Ben Skowronek (calf) and center Brian Allen (calf) remain on the active roster, but McVay announced earlier this week that both are done for the season.

Defensive tackle Marquise Copeland, linebacker Jake Gervase (ankle) and linebacker Travin Howard (hip) also are ruled out.”

NFL Week 16 model projections: Predictions, totals for every NFL Week 16 game (theathletic)

“Welcome to my game projections for Week 16 of the NFL season. If you’re new here, I project the score for every game and the win percentage for every team using my NFL betting model. The model phases out older data and uses data from this year as the season progresses.

My NFL betting model takes in a flurry of different metrics and creates a projection for each team. Those projections are then used to project a spread and total for each game. My model can find the chance a game covers the spread or total. I use an “edge threshold” to determine what to bet on. You can find my best bets for Week 16 here.”

PFT’s NFL Week 16 2022 picks (nbcsports)

“Broncos (-2.5) at Rams

MDS’s take: The NFL was expecting this one to be a marquee Christmas Day game. Instead it’s probably the worst game of the week.

MDS’s pick: Broncos 12, Rams 9.

Florio’s take: A year after losing on Christmas Day, Baker Mayfield evens his December 25 record in a game that will be watched only because it’s on TV.

Florio’s pick: Rams 24, Broncos 20.”