12-19-22 disappointing seasons remove buzz from packers-rams matchup

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — This can’t be what the NFL’s schedule-makers and ESPN executives had in mind.  When the league’s slate of prime-time games came out in the spring, a mid-December matchup between the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and the three-time defending NFC North champion Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field sounded like TV ratings gold.   Surely visions of gorgeous wide-angle shots of the falling snow and big-time playoff implications were dancing in their heads.  But instead of a playoff preview, the “Monday Night Football” audience will get two of the NFL’s most disappointing teams when the Rams (4-9) visit the Packers (5-8).  Although both teams are still mathematically in playoff contention, the Rams are assured a sub-.500 record, and the Packers could win out and still miss the postseason for the first time under coach Matt LaFleur.