NFL Week 15 stats you should know Matthew Stafford has perfected play action can Ravens stop Aaron Rodgers

We're into the last four weeks of the NFL's regular season, and with 26 of the league's 32 teams within one game of a playoff spot, almost every matchup holds significant playoff implications.A couple of games loom especially large in the late afternoon window on Sunday: Seahawks-Rams B.J. Upton Jersey and Packers-Ravens. The have won two straight and, at 5-8, likely need to win out to make the playoffs. The , meanwhile, are coming off arguably their best win of the season -- a 30-23 victory at Arizona -- but are battling on a short week.In Baltimore, since injuring his ankle in a Week 14 lo s at Cleveland. Even if Jackson can play, the will have a tall task against and the 10-3 .Let's take a look at some of the key areas that could play a key factor in both of these Sunday showdowns: Seahawks at RamsWHEN THE SEAHAWKS HAVE THE BALL...Whenever you face the Rams, your offense has to answer one question first and foremost: How do we deal with ? Donald has 14 career sacks in 15 career games against Seattle -- his second-most of any opponent behind the (15 sacks in 16 games).In these teams' first meeting this season, Donald had seven tackles, a sack and six pre sures.Protecting the quarterback is a major i sue for Seattle. They allow pre sure on 39.2% of dropbacks, the highest rate in the league. Though is a great improviser and one of the game's elite deep pa sers, he may have to get the ball out of his hands more quickly this weekend. The Seahawks could take a page from their impre sive Week 12 win over the . In that contest, Wilson averaged just 2.42 seconds before throwing, his lowest number this season, and he went 19-20 for 145 yards and a touchdown on throws released in 2.5 seconds or le s. The completions, attempts and yards were all season highs.Wilson found succe s getting the ball out quickly in the Seahawks' first meeting with the Rams this season, too:Ru sell Wilson vs Rams in Week 52.5 seconds or le s to throwMore than 2.5 seconds to throwCompletion pct75%63%TD-Int1-00-1Pa ser rating132.865.1Of course it's still important for Wilson to have opportunities to throw the deep ball. That's his best ability as a pa ser. But in order to combat Donald and the rest of the pa s rush, it's important to let Wilson get some rhythm in the quick pa sing game, too.WHEN THE RAMS HAVE THE BALL...Prepare for the play-action pa s, and then prepare some more. has been outstanding off play action this season:Matt Stafford on Play Action Pa ses This SeasonNFL RankYards per attempt10.71stYards per completion15.41stPa ser rating121.02ndIf you need further proof, watch this incredible Blank Jersey throw to from Monday night: MATTHEW STAFFORD MISSLE TO VAN JEFFERSON 60 air yards PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) In the Week 5 meeting, the Seahawks actually held up well against Stafford's play action. On nine play-action dropbacks, Stafford went 6 for 8 for 67 yards and was sacked once. The Seahawks played zone coverage on all nine of those plays.The i sue for Seattle is that ever since the Rams' three game losing streak, Stafford has absolutely shredded opponents' zones on play action. In Weeks 13-14, Stafford completed 16 of 18 pa ses for 274 Erik Gonzalez Jersey yards and the Jefferson touchdown in the clip above when using play action against the zone.Of course, play action is most effective when opponents have to respect the threat of the run. It's no coincidence that one of Stafford's worst play action games (Week 10 against the 49ers) was also one Los Angeles's least productive ground games. The Rams had just 52 rushing yards after falling behind earlyThe good news for the Seahawks is that, while their defense has struggled at times, it rarely gives up big plays like the one above. Seattle has allowed just 11 completions 20 or more yards downfield this season, tied for second-fewest in the NFL behind the . If Seattle can get an early lead and make Stafford force the i sue, it will work to their advantage.Date:Sunday, Dec. 19 |Time:4:25 p.m. ETLocation:SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.)TV:Fox|Stream:fuboTV ()Follow:Odds:Rams -4, O/U 45.5Packers at RavensWHEN THE PACKERS HAVE THE BALL...If the Ravens were fully healthy, this would be a different story. Baltimore started the year with a pair of Pro Bowl-caliber corners in and . But Humphrey two weeks ago with a shoulder injury and Peters tore his ACL in the preseason. That's one part of the equation.The other part of the equation is, you know, the fact that they're going against Aaron Rodgers, who leads the league in pa ser rating and touchdown-to-interception ratio.The best way to make Rodgers uncomfortable this season is to force pre sure. The reigning MVP has really struggled this season when the heat is on, in stark contrast to his 2020 campaign: Aaron Rodgers When Pre sured20202021Yards per attempt6 Joe Carter Jersey .84.7TD-Int8-15-3Pa ser Rating89.356.4For reference, Rodgers' 6.8 yards per attempt under pre sure last year ranked 10th in the NFL. His 4.7 yards per attempt under pre sure this year ranks 31st, ahead of only . It's honestly surprising to see Rodgers -- someone typically so cool navigating pre sure -- struggle with it this season.The i sue for Baltimore will be creating enough havoc to make an impact. Their defense ranks ninth in pre sure percentage this season overall, but it has fallen off recently with injuries. Two weeks ago against Pittsburgh, Baltimore registered a season-low 15.6% pre sure rate, and it was only a hair better -- 20% -- last week against Cleveland.Baltimore blitzed slightly le s over the past two weeks, and given the overwhelming injury i sues, that makes sense. But if the Ravens want to slow down Rodgers and the Packers, they have to find a way to generate pre sure.WHEN THE RAVENS HAVE THE BALL...Like Rodgers' surprising drop in performance when dealing with pre sure, Lamar Jackson has also had an unexpected fall-off in one particular area this season. That area? The blitz. Check out Jackson's 2021 struggles when Ricky Vaughn Jersey blitzed compared to 2020 and 2019 (his MVP season), when he thrived against it:Lamar Jackson When Blitzed201920202021Yards per attempt7.87.45.8TD-Int24-27-24-5Sack rate6.8%5.7%13.7%Pa ser Rating117.4101.070.0Jackson has taken 20 sacks against the blitz this season, five more than any other player. He's also getting an average of 2.16 seconds between when the ball is snapped and when he is first pre sured when blitzed, which ranks 25th out of 32 quarterbacks. Jackson deserves plenty of blame for his struggles, but his offensive line hasn't done him a ton of favors, either.Opponents have realized this weakne s and blitzed the Ravens often. Only the have faced a higher percentage of blitzes on pa s plays this season.While the Packers have not blitzed a ton this season -- they have the seventh-lowest blitz rate of any defense in the NFL -- they are effective when doing it, ranking sixth in the league in both yards per completion allowed and interception percentage when blitzing. Jackson's status to even play Sunday remains up in the air, and if he does play, he'll have to find a way to beat the Packers' blitz. If he can't, it will be a long day for him and the rest of the offense against one of the league's best teams.Date:Sunday, Dec. 19 |Time:4:25 p.m. ETLocation:MT Bank Stadium (Baltimore)TV:Fox|Stream:fuboTV ()Follow:Odds:Ravens +6.5, O/U 43.5