NFL St Louis Rams

Tre Mason Will Be X-Factor for Rams vs. Chiefs

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Tre Mason Rams X-Factor

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The St. Louis Rams stunned the Seattle Seahawks last week with a couple of trick plays, but the most deceiving play they made was going away from incumbent starter Zac Stacy and rolling with rookie speedster Tre Mason. Mason came into his own last week and will be the X-factor for the Rams this week as they roll into Arrowhead Stadium Sunday to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mason was inactive for the first four games of the season as the Rams rolled with Trey Watts as the third running back behind Stacy and Benny Cunningham, but his impact was immediately felt on Monday Night Football the first week he saw game action. In limited action against the San Francisco 49ers, he rushed five times for 40 yards and caught a pass out of the backfield for 12 yards. While those numbers aren’t overly impressive at first glance, if you watched the game, you could tell Mason provided an electric quality out of the backfield and that he was easily the most impressive back on the roster for the Rams.

The Rams apparently took notice as he came out of nowhere last week to lead the backfield in touches, rushing 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. Stacy, who burst onto the scene as the Rams’ lead back last year in much the same fashion Mason has over the past couple of weeks, only saw the field for one snap. The coaching staff continues to say that they are going to ride the hot hand and that Stacy could see increased carries this week, but I chalk that up to coach speak. History has proven that the Rams aren’t afraid to change course mid-season and give a rookie back a long, hard look in the backfield, and Mason has yet to disappoint.

Mason faces a tough challenge this week, however, in a Chiefs defense that is one of only two in the NFL that has yet to allow a rushing touchdown. All is not lost, however, as the two rushing defenses Mason has faced thus far in his young career, the 49ers and Seahawks, are allowing fewer yards per game on the ground (97.1 and 127.2, respectively) than the 139.5 the Chiefs have allowed. Mason has still managed 5.4 rushing yards per attempt on these better run defenses, and now that the Rams know what they have in him, they won’t be hesitant to give him even more carries and catches out of the backfield to get him into open space in an effort to take advantage of his explosive speed.

Look for Mason to get 20 or more touches in this contest, despite what the coaching staff might lead you to believe, and be a major factor in the Rams’ gameplan against the Chiefs this weekend.

Phillip Jacques is a Pac-12 Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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