Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

W2W4: St. Louis Rams

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams and the San Diego Chargers kick off Week 12 on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox regional coverage.

Here are three things to watch from the Rams' perspective:

1. Keeping it up: The Rams' defense has been rolling the past three weeks, capped off by a dominant showing against Peyton Manning and the Broncos. The Rams have held their past three opponents to an average of 11.3 points per game, 45.33 rushing yards per game, 2.57 yards per carry and have three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 13 sacks in that span. It appears that group has turned the corner with players at every level playing full speed and making plays all over the field. Coordinator Gregg Williams is pushing all the right buttons and the pass rush is exactly what it was supposed to be at the beginning of the season. Even better news for the Rams: The Chargers are struggling mightily offensively in recent weeks. In San Diego's past four games, it's averaging 13.5 points per game, the worst in the league. The recipe is there for the Rams' defensive dominance to continue, but it would also help if that group eliminated the weekly coverage bust that leads to a touchdown going the other way.

2. Seeing red: The Rams haven't been awful in the red zone in 2014 but they weren't very good last week against Denver, failing to score a touchdown on three trips inside the Broncos' 20. As it stands, they now sit at 21st in the league in red-zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on 52 percent of their chances. While the defense has been good enough for the offense to settle for field goals in wins against Denver and San Francisco, it would help the Rams get a little breathing room if they can start posting 7's instead of 3's. The good news for the Rams? San Diego is 28th in the league in red-zone defense, giving up touchdowns 66.7 percent of the time.

3. Third down, first priority: Speaking of areas where the Chargers are vulnerable, look no further than third down. San Diego's third-down defense has been under much scrutiny of late and now ranks 29th in the league in defending third down. The Chargers are allowing 45.4 percent of third downs to be converted, which has kept their defense on the field for extended periods. The Rams struggled on third down against Arizona two weeks ago but were a little better last week against the Broncos. Still, there's plenty of room for improvement and if the Rams want to continue to possess the ball and win the time of possession battle, they'll need to take advantage. St. Louis is 25th in the league in converting on third down. Something will have to give in this one but if the Rams want to win consecutive games for the first time this season, they'd be well served to keep the chains moving more than usual.

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