McKinzie and Rams face challenges in redemption bids

McKinzie and the Los Angeles Rams will share a similar dream of redemption in their bids for glory. McKinzie endured a horror show in the Breeders’ Cup Classic after suffering a horrendous outing in his appearance in the contest last year. He was the leading contender for the title but was extremely poor on the track as he finished in 12th out of 14 competitors.

The Rams reached the Super Bowl in the 2018 season on the back of their outstanding offensive performances over the course of the campaign. However, Sean McVay’s offense led by Jared Goff on the big stage was stymied by the brilliance of the New England Patriots’ defense, scoring only three points – the joint lowest total in Super Bowl history.

McKinzie has bounced back from his failure on the big stage. Bob Baffert’s charge has won two out of his last six races, although he has finished second in the other four. His victories have been impressive, coming at the Malibu Stakes in Santa Anita and the Alysheba Stakes at the Churchill Downs, winning both meets by comfortable margins.

As a result of the consistency of his form, McKinzie will certainly be one to watch in the horse racing free predictions ahead of the Classic, although bookmakers will be aware of his past failure in the event. The race will be held at Santa Anita this term and that could work in his favor even though Baffert’s charge did finish second in his last outing at the venue in the Awesome Again Stakes. The pressure will be on him to prove a point just as it is on the Rams.

McVay has been the coach that teams across the NFL have been desperately trying to emulate and even clone in their bid to match his offense. However, the shine has been taken off him since Bill Belichick and company best him in the Super Bowl. Los Angeles did make a bright start to the campaign, winning their opening three matches of the season, including gritty victories over the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns on the road.

After their triumph over the Browns, they slumped to three defeats on the bounce before beating a lackluster Atlanta Falcons. The worst part has been losses in the NFC West, which has cranked up the pressure on them to find their form. The excellence of the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks to start the season has left the Rams down in third place in the division, losing back-to-back games to their rivals.

The form of their two superstars Jared Goff and Todd Gurley has been concerning, to say the least. Gurley has not been the same player since suffering an injury towards the end of last season, while Goff has been unable to take the strain of carrying the offense, especially against elite competition. Goff put forward a weak performance against the 49ers at home, scoring only seven points amid fierce pressure from San Francisco’s vaunted defense. If McVay and company cannot crack their problems on offense their hopes of redemption will fade fast.

There are parallels between the stories of McKinzie and the Rams. The former is up first for his crack at redemption and a victory for him might give Los Angeles hopes of rekindling their bid for glory.