Rams should roll past Seahawks on possible path to perfection
Will the Los Angeles Rams go undefeated in the regular season?
The Station Casinos sports book posted that proposition wager the day after the Rams whipped the Vikings 38-31 on Sept. 27 to improve to 4-0.
“Yes” is an 8-1 underdog, and “no” is a minus 1,300 favorite. Los Angeles, a 7-point favorite Sunday at Seattle, is projected to be favored in its final 12 games. But the Rams will face some stiff challenges, including a Nov. 19 showdown against the Chiefs (4-0) on “Monday Night Football” in Mexico City.
“When you look at their remaining schedule, five games really stand out to me,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “The first is Oct. 28 at home against the Green Bay Packers, then Nov. 4 at New Orleans, Nov. 19 vs. Kansas City, Dec. 9 at Chicago and Dec. 16 at home against Philadelphia.”
The Rams have looked unstoppable. They’re second in the league in scoring, with 35 points per game, and fifth in scoring defense, allowing 16.8 ppg, for an NFL-leading plus-73 point differential.
Jared Goff threw for a career-high 465 yards and five touchdowns against Minnesota, which led the league in total defense last season. Brandin Cooks is third in the NFL in receiving yards (452), and Todd Gurley is second in rushing yards (338). All-Pros Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald lead the way up front on defense, and innovative young coach Sean McVay directs the show.
“It’s a team that’s extremely well-balanced on both sides of the ball,” Esposito said.
We’re not ready to bet on the Rams to run the table, but we are willing to wager on them to cover the spread against the Seahawks.
Los Angeles smoked Seattle 42-7 in Week 15 last season at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks have lost four of their last six home games.
Russell Wilson won’t be able to trade scores with the Rams’ prolific offense, and Seattle’s defense will struggle to overcome the loss of arguably its best player in safety Earl Thomas.
Four more plays (home team in CAPS):
■ BENGALS (-6) over Dolphins: Cincinnati’s offense is clicking, averaging 31.5 ppg, and coming off a dramatic 37-36 win at Atlanta. The Bengals have covered four of their last five at home. Miami is banged up, as it ended Sunday’s 38-7 loss at New England without seven injured starters.
■ LIONS (+1) over Packers: Aaron Rodgers ripped Green Bay’s offense as “terrible.” He’s not 100 percent himself and doesn’t have many weapons. Detroit has covered three consecutive games, including a 26-10 home win over the Patriots. The Lions swept the season series from the Packers without Rodgers last season.
■ PANTHERS (-6) over Giants: Carolina is riding a seven-game home win streak and has won in each of the last three seasons after its bye. Christian McCaffrey and Cam Newton lead the league’s top rushing attack against New York’s 29th-ranked rushing defense. The Giants have been held to fewer than 20 points in their three losses, including Sunday’s 33-18 home defeat to the Saints. Eli Manning has been sacked 15 times and will struggle against a Luke Keuchly-led Panthers’ defense that added safety Eric Reid.
■ TEXANS (-3) over Cowboys: Deshaun Watson showed signs of his 2017 self in a win at the Colts and should shine under the national spotlight on “Sunday Night Football.” J.J. Watt has five sacks in his last two games for a Houston defense capable of shutting down an anemic Dallas offense averaging only 16.8 ppg.
Last week: 5-0 against the spread.
Season: 11-8-1.
More Betting: Follow all of our betting coverage online at reviewjournal.com/betting a
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
