The biggest storyline of Thursday nights preseason game between the Rams and Patriots, at least from a national stand point, is rookie quarterback Sam Bradford making his first NFL start. And while it will certainly be interesting to see how he performs on the road in New England, SB Nation's Rams blog, Turf Show Times, breaks down the other keys to the game, which are just as important, if not more so.
In particular, the Rams' run defense against the new and improved Patriots' ground attack.
The Pats have been very committed to running the ball in the preseason. Belichick's team is averaging 122 yards per game on the ground this month, and is tied for the league lead with 5 rushing TDs. Most of those yards have been grinded out too, as NE averages 3.7 yards per attempt and has just two runs of 20 or more yards. The Rams have not allowed a rushing TD thus far and opponents are averaging 88 yards per game and just 3.0 yards per attempt.