(Photo Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

Thursday night NFL matchup preview

You have to like the matchup on the NFL’s Thursday night calendar – the Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks.

Important NFC West battle. Both teams 3-1. One of them at home, where the home-field advantage is pronounced, the other on the road in a short week.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Rams quarterback Jared Goff. He’s fumbling quite a bit. And few players could put together his stats (45 completions, 517 yards in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and come out of it with more questions than answers about his ability to grow in the Rams’ system. Trust me, coach Sean McVay wants to do more, not less.

Fox and the NFL Network do the TV honors at 8:20 p.m. ET.

Around the NFL:

• Bill Bidwill, 88, the longtime owner of the Arizona Cardinals, died Wednesday. The mild-mannered “Mr. B” turned over day-to-day operations to his son years ago. Bidwill’s father owned the Chicago Cardinals, which later moved to St. Louis and then to the Valley of the Sun.

• New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski’s problems this season were injury-related and now his season is over. The 14-year veteran is bound for injured reserve and hip surgery. He had missed four extra points this season. He’s expected back in 2020. The Pats auditioned kickers on Wednesday.

• The Patriots play the winless Washington Redskins on Sunday and Redskins coach Jay Gruden is giving out no signals as to his thinking about a starting quarterback. Asked Wednesday on a conference call with New England media about the Redskins’ QB plan, Gruden said: “We don’t have one right now.” He indicated a decision might not come until game time Sunday (that’s never true, because someone has to take snaps in practice with the first unit). You can probably cross Case Keenum, whose foot is in a walking boot, off the list. Now you can choose between Colt McCoy and rookie Dwayne Haskins. Now you can weep.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman