The Los Angeles Rams look to keep pace with the New Orleans Saints as they take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday 12/2/18 at the Ford Field in Detroit.
The Los Angeles Rams enter this game coming off a bye week. But before the Rams took a break, they figured in a 54-51 shootout victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the most memorable Monday Night Football matches in recent memory. The Rams’ offense is firing on all cylinders right now as they rank 2nd in the league with 448.2 offensive yards per game and they are also #3 in scoring at 35.4 points per outing. Los Angeles’ passing offense and rushing offense both also rank in the Top 5 in the NFL.
Jared Goff has thrown for 3,547 yards with 26 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while completing 67.7% of his passes. Todd Gurley has been a monster on the ground this season with 1,034 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Brandin Cooks has caught for 964 yards while Robert Woods has 904 receiving yards on the season.
After losing to the Chicago Bears in their annual Thanksgiving game, the Detroit Lions have fallen to 4-7 on the season and with that, they are now all but out of the race for the postseason. However, the Lions can still salvage some pride if they win out and finish at .500. Along the way, they can play the spoiler role against teams trying to make the playoffs. Against the Rams, they can do the Saints a favor a put a dent in Los Angeles’ bid for the top seed in the postseason.
Matthew Stafford has thrown for 2,841 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Kerryon Johnson leads the Lions with 641 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Kenny Golladay has 804 receiving yards and 5 scores on a total of 52 grabs. Marvin Jones has 508 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Los Angeles is 10-1 SU in their last 11 games played and are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games on the road. Detroit is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games played but are 4-1 SU in their last five games against the Rams. Detroit is also 3-1 SU in their last four home games against Los Angeles.
While the Lions may be worth a look with the +9.5 in the spread betting, I don’t think they have as much chance winning this game straight up. With Marvin Jones out for the season and if Kerryon Johnson remains inactive, I don’t see how the Lions can keep pace with the Rams’ uptempo offense. Jones accounts for 17.8% of the Lions’ offense while Johnson produces 57% of Detroit’s rush offense. That’s too much offense Detroit won’t be having against an offensive powerhouse like the Rams.
Likewise, since Golden Tate was traded, Matthew Stafford has averaged 232 passing yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. When he still had Tate, Stafford only threw a total of two interceptions in six games. As for Tate, he accounted for 18% of the Lions’ pass offense. That’s yet another key loss for the Lions.
As for the Rams, they have been winning but it hasn’t been always pretty. Los Angeles’ average winning margin in their last seven wins is 7.3 points per game. But the Rams are coming off a 54 point effort against the Chiefs. Historically, teams are 12-4 SU after scoring 50 in their previous game, 4-0 SU if that team played on the road the next time out.
Lastly, Detroit is just 1-9 SU in their last 10 games as underdogs by at least 9.5 points. The Rams are already looking to secure home field advantage in the playoffs. They are the better team and they have more motive to win this game. I think Goff and Gurley have big nights. We’re picking the Los Angeles Rams to beat the Detroit Lions on 12/2/18.
The Rams are 1-5-2 ATS in their last 8 games played and 2-4 ATS in their last six games played on the road. The Lions are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games played and are 2-4 ATS in their last six games when playing the Rams.
The home team has had the number in this match-up as it is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings. But the Lions have struggled against good teams, going 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games against teams with winning records. Los Angeles has one of the league’s best offenses and coming off a bye week, they should be more than ready for this. The Rams are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a bye week. I’m picking the Rams to win by a couple of touchdowns, at least. Prediction: Rams -9.5
The over is 6-3 in the Rams’ last 9 games played and the total has gone over in 9 of their last 12 games on the road. The under has hit in 4 out of the last 5 games played by the Lions and also under in 4 out of their last 5 games played at home. Head to head, the total has gone over in 5 out of the last 7 games between the Rams and Lions and the over is also 4-1 in the last five games between these teams in Detroit.
These teams have combined for 48.78 points per game in their last nine meetings but they’ve put up a total of at least 50 points in three out of their last four head to head matchups. The total has gone under in four out of the Lions’ last five games and the average combined score was 41.8 points. Seven out of the last 10 games by the Rams had a combined total of at least 56 points and Los Angeles is coming off a game where they dropped 54 on the Chiefs. I think the Rams dictate the pace of this game and they have been in high scoring games this season. Prediction: Over 55
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