The St. Louis Rams will head into Kansas City to take on the Chiefs for football bragging rights in Missouri. Rams' RT Joseph Barksdale has been a road grader in the run game with a +11.0 grade.
He will have his hands full since he will be lining up against the one of the NFL’s best sack masters, OLB Justin Houston. Houston has generated 29 pressures, leading all 3-4 OLBs in Pass Rush Productivity while also grading out at +5.1 against the run. Tamba Hali, on the other side, has 17 pressures of his own, coming in at 16th among 3-4 OLBs with at least 180 snaps.
On the Rams' defense, Aaron Donald has been a revelation. He is ranked second in Run Stop Percentage among DTs with at least 80 snaps and is 10th in Pass Rush Productivity among DTs with 110 snaps. He is also the second-overall-rated DT in the league with a +15.5 grade trailing only Gerald McCoy. An emerging contributor for the Chiefs this year is TE Travis Kelce who is the Chiefs' highest-rated offensive player, grading out +3.0 or higher both receiving the ball and run blocking.
Here are three more notable numbers for each side:
St. Louis Rams
E.J. Gaines – The rookie has a +5.8 overall grade and is ranked 16th in coverage among CBs with 185 snaps.
Jared Cook – Cook has a +3.0 run block grade while also being tied with Julius Thomas for 10th among TEs in Yards per Route Run among TEs with at least 30 targets.
Johnny Hekker – Hekker is the fifth-ranked punter through six games, has a +11.5 grade, and executed a perfect fake punt last week to take down the Seahawks.
Kansas City Chiefs
Rodney Hudson – Comes in as the seventh-overall-ranked center with a +5.3 grade and is tied for fifth in Pass Blocking Efficiency.
Phillip Gaines – The rookie was pushed into slot CB duties with Chris Owens hurt last week and posted a +2.2 coverage grade ranking as the best slot CB in Week 7 while giving up no catches on five targets.
Anthony Sherman – With a +4.1 overall grade, Sherman is the top-ranked FB in the league and has the second-best blocking grade behind Jerome Felton.
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