Watch Bengals vs Rams live on Sky Sports Action from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off is at 5pm
Sunday 27 October 2019 16:08, UK
The Los Angeles Rams will be hoping a trip to London will help them find themselves again when they face the Bengals at Wembley on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
The Rams (4-3) will face the winless Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley Stadium, one week after the defending NFC champions ended a three-game losing streak with a 37-10 victory at Atlanta. It will be the Rams' third game at London in the past four seasons, after they went 1-1 in the previous two trips.
The Bengals (0-7) are in desperate need of some time away, as one of two NFL teams without a victory (the Miami Dolphins are 0-6). Cincinnati last played at London in 2016, leaving with a 27-27 tie against the Washington Redskins.
Cincinnati would like to get its NFL-worst rushing attack going against the Rams' No 14 rushing defense, but the Bengals gained just 33 yards on the ground Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars' No 21 rushing defense, their fourth time under 35 yards in a game this season.
As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 53.1 rushing yards per game. Running back Joe Mixon has 254 yards rushing on 84 carries, with no touchdowns, a year after he gained 1,168 yards, fourth-best in the NFL. Mixon had two yards rushing on Sunday on just 10 carries, a week after posting 10 yards on eight totes.
"It's frustrating for everybody when the run game isn't going," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told the Bengals' team website. "That's with the coaches and the running backs. Joe is easy to deal with. Joe understands. Joe wants to win. He's not a selfish guy in that way. He just wants to win.
"It's frustrating for any running back when we're having the lack of success that we're having right now."
Taylor, who was an assistant coach with Los Angeles the past two seasons, is getting his first matchup with Rams head coach Sean McVay.
The Rams have also been in something of a funk with their rushing attack, as injury concerns and a less aggressive running style have dogged running back Todd Gurley, who had just 41 yards rushing on a season-high 18 carries at Atlanta.
Los Angeles rushed for 90 yards total Sunday, with rookie Darrell Henderson gaining 31 yards on 11 carries as Malcolm Brown (ankle) did not play. Brown also did not practice Wednesday. A positive for the Rams is that the Bengals have the league's worst rushing defense, allowing 189.0 yards allowed on the ground per game.
Rams quarterback Jared Goff passed for 268 yards against the Falcons, while tying a season-best with two TD strikes, one week after passing for a career-worst 78 yards in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Facing Taylor's Bengals will pose an additional challenge Sunday.
"(Taylor) does know a whole lot of stuff, not only about me but our whole team," Goff said. "With that being said, we have changed a lot in the last six to nine months.
"Since he was here, we have changed offensively, defensively, schematically at times. There is the thought that he will be able to be a step ahead of us, but we're going to go out and play our game."
Rams linebacker Clay Matthews (jaw) remains out.
For the Bengals, cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick (knee) and Darqueze Dennard (hamstring) - who made his season debut last week - both sat out Wednesday, as did defensive end Carl Lawson (hamstring). Cornerback William Jackson (shoulder) was full and appears set for a return.
Wideout A.J. Green (ankle) was limited, although reports say he likely will not make his season debut until at least Week Nine. Left tackle Cordy Glenn (concussion) practised in full and could make his debut on Sunday.
Watch Bengals vs Rams live on Sky Sports Action from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off is at 5pm.
