The Los Angeles Rams head to the Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 5 edition of Thursday Night Football.
Los Angeles is coming off its first defeat of the season, a 37-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in a game where they were four-point betting favorites. The Rams are 3-1 on the season and they are currently second in the NFC West, behind the 4-0 Cardinals. Prior to last week’s loss, Los Angeles dealt Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers their first loss of the season.
On the other hand, the Seahawks bounced back from their loss to the Tennessee Titans by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 28-21 as 2.5 point betting underdogs. Seattle is 2-2 on the season and they are currently behind the Rams in the NFC West standings and tied with the 49ers. The Seahawks won their opening game against the Chargers before losing two straight games.
The Rams failed to build on their upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 as they fell to the Arizona Cardinals in the battle for the lead in the NFC West. Now they have to regroup and bounce back on a short week.
Los Angeles ranks 4th in the league in passing offense at 298.5 yards per game. However, they are only 23rd in rushing offense with 93 yards per outing. The Rams have the 6th best scoring average in the league at 28.8 points per game.
Matthew Stafford has completed 92 of 136 passes for 1,222 passing yards with 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Darrell Henderson leads the team with 212 rushing yards on 43 carries with two touchdowns. Cooper Kupp leads the team with 30 catches for 431 receiving yards with five TD grabs on the season.
The Seahawks snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating the San Francisco 49ers on the road to improve to 2-2 on the season. The Seahawks are now tied with the 49ers at the bottom of the NFC West division team standings and will try to pull even with the Rams with a win here.
Seattle ranks 17th in passing with an average of 243.3 passing yards per game. They are 18th on the ground with an average of 107 rushing yards per contest. The Seahawks are also 10th overall in scoring at 25.8 points per game while allowing 25 points per contest, 19th overall.
Russell Wilson has passed for 1,044 yards with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions while completing 70 out of 109 passes. Chis Carson has rushed for a team-high 232 yards on 54 carries while Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf each has 20 catches on the season. Lockett has 333 yards and 3 TD while Metcalf has 285 yards and 3 TD for the Seahawks.
The Rams are 5-2 SU in their last seven games played. Los Angeles is 13-5 SU in their last 18 games played against the NFC, and 13-7 SU in their last 20 games played against the NFC West. The Seahawks are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games played. Seattle is 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played at home, and 4-1 SU in their last five games played against the NFC West.
Head to head, the Rams are 6-2 SU in their last eight games played against the Seahawks.
Seattle’s defense has had its issues to start the season. The Seahawks are ranked 28th in passing defense and are dead-last against the run, allowing their opponents 152 rushing yards per contest.
Meanwhile, the Rams are coming off their first loss of the season and although their defense has not looked as good as it was last year, their passing game has tremendously improved with Stafford. Although he didn’t have a big game the last time out, he had three before Week 4.
With Los Angeles facing a struggling defense, I expect the Rams to bounce back and pick up this road win.
Prediction: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are 23-9-1 ATS in their last 33 games against the NFC. Los Angeles is 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 games against the NFC West, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games after accumulating more than 350 offensive yards in their previous game, 6-1-2 ATS after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game, and 4-1 ATS in their last five games when allowing more than 150 rushing yards in their previous assignment.
The Seahawks are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played overall. Seattle is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against the NFC West, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against the NFC, 1-4 ATS after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game, 1-4 ATS in their last five October games, 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games after a straight-up win, and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games after an ATS win.
Head to head, the Rams are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Seahawks.
The Rams defense has looked bad in the last two weeks, allowing a total of 61 points and 911 yards. After forcing the Cardinals to punt on their first possession last week, they allowed Arizona to score in seven out of their next eight drives.
But the Rams have always bounced back well from defeats. They are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games after a double-digit loss at home, 14-5-1 ATS in their last 20 games after an SU loss of more than 14 points, and 5-1 ATS in their last six games after a straight-up loss.
Given Seattle’s defensive issues, I’ll lay the points and take the Rams and this soft line.
Prediction: Rams -2.5
The over is 6-0 in the Rams’ last six games played. The total has gone over in five out of their last six road games. The over is also 5-0 in their last five games on field turf, 5-0 in their last five games against the NFC, 11-5 in their last 16 Week 5 games, 5-2 after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game, and 5-2 in their last seven games when allowing more than 150 rushing yards in their previous assignment.
The total has gone under in 10 out of the last 13 games played by Seattle. The under is also 8-2 in their last 10 games against the NFC, 5-2 in their last seven Thursday games, 5-1 in their last six October games, and 3-1-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a winning record. However, the over is 9-4-1 in their last 14 games as an underdog and 3-0-1 in their last four games as home underdogs.
Head to head, the total has gone over in four out of the last five meetings between these two teams. The over is also 4-1 in their last five meetings in Seattle.
The Rams passing offense is ranked 5th in the league and that helps them score an average of 28.8 points per game this season. Against a struggling Seattle defense, they shouldn’t have much problem moving the ball and scoring points.
Seattle is also a very good passing team with Russell Wilson and they are averaging 25.8 points per game this season. With how shaky the Rams’ defense has been during the previous two weeks, Wilson should be able to find holes and help the Seahawks keep up with Stafford and the Rams.
It could be a back-and-forth game but there’s no doubt it should be high-scoring.
Prediction: Over 54.5
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