The Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons look to snap their respective losing streaks in Week 7 of NFL action at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Only one team leaves Atlanta on October 20th with its losing skid over. Who will it be?
Desperate Times
It’s still week 7 of the 2019 NFL season but it already looks desperate times for the Los Angeles Rams. The defending NFC Conference champions have lost three straight games and have fallen to 3-3 SU on the season. In their last game, the Rams dropped a 7-20 loss to the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers.
Jared Goff’s struggles continued last week when he threw for only 78 yards. Goff has as many touchdowns and interceptions this season with 7 and has only three touchdowns in his last three games played. But it’s not only Goff who’s struggling as the Rams rushing game is only ranked 22nd this season after being the 3rd best ground team in the NFL last season. Against the 49ers last week, Los Angeles could not convert on a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line and were foiled on a fourth-and-short later in that game.
The Rams rank 6th in passing yards with 272.5 per game. However, as I said earlier, they are only 22nd overall with an average of 98.3 rushing yards per contest. The Rams are scoring 25.5 points per game but are allowing their opponents to score an average of 25.7 points per game.
Four Straight Losses
The Atlanta Falcons are 1-5 on the season and they have suffered four straight losses. In their last game, the Falcons allowed the Arizona Cardinals to take a 17-point lead in the second half before making a furious comeback that ended in a missed field goal by Matt Bryant. The final score was 33-34 and the Cardinals got their first home win since October last year.
If there was any consolation, it was that Matt Ryan had his best game of the season with 356 yards with four touchdowns. Ryan led the Falcons back from a 10-27 deficit by scoring on four out of their last five possessions. Although Bryant missed the game-tying field goal attempt, the Atlanta defense was to blame as it allowed Arizona to amass 300 yards in the first half alone.
Atlanta is the second-best passing team in the NFL right now with an average of 317.8 passing yards per game. They rank 29th in rushing with an average of 73.5 yards per contest. Atlanta is 16th in the league in scoring at 22.5 points per game and they are giving up 31 points per game this season.
Who Wins?
The Rams are 13-7 SU in their last 20 games played. Los Angeles is 2-1 SU in three road games played this season and 13-6 SU in their last 19 games against the NFC Conference. The Falcons are 1-5 SU in their last six games played. Atlanta is 1-1 SU in two home games played this season and 4-8 SU in their last 12 games played in October. Head to head, the Falcons are 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings, including 5-0 SU in the last five games.
I’ve been wrong about the Rams in the last two games. I’ve picked them to bounce back but they have not. Worse, the injuries seem to keep piling up. Todd Gurley missed the last game and is questionable for this one. But even if he plays, that offensive line is a big issue. The Rams ranked 3rd in rushing last season but are only 22nd this year, even with Gurley playing in the first five games of the season. That offensive line got thinner when Joe Noteboom tore his ACL. Jared Goff threw for only 78 yards last week but the problem is beyond that as Goff has 26 turnovers versus only 13 touchdowns in his last 12 games. The Rams look different from the team that made the Super Bowl last season and I just don’t trust them anymore. I’m picking the Atlanta Falcons to beat the struggling Los Angeles Rams on 10/20/19.
Prediction: Atlanta Falcons
Other Bets to Make
Los Angeles is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games played. The Rams are 5-0 ATS in their last five games played on the road. The Falcons are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played and 1-1 ATS in two home games played this season. Atlanta is 3-6 ATS in their last nine games against the NFC Conference. Head to head, the Falcons are 6-4 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these two teams, including 4-1 ATS in the last five games.
Rams
-3 (-110)
Falcons
+3 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting.ag as of 10/16/19
The Falcons have outscored the Rams by five points per game in their last 10 games played and by 16 points per game in their last three meetings. The Rams are the NFL betting favorites here but both these teams are coming off back to back losses. While Jared Goff threw for only 78 yards in their last game, Matt Ryan is coming off his best performance of the season. The Falcons have been cash cows as underdogs at home as they are 8-1 ATS in their last nine games as home underdogs. The Rams look like a shadow of last season’s team. Give me the home team and the plus points here.
Prediction: Falcons +3
The under is 3-2 in the Rams’ last five games played. Los Angeles has seen the total go over in two out of their three road games played this season. The total has gone over in three out of the last four games played by the Falcons. The total has gone under in five out of Atlanta’s last six games played at home. Head to head, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams and the over is 9-1 in their last 10 games played in Atlanta.
Over
54 (-110)
Under
54 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting.ag as of 10/16/19
These teams have combined to score 49.8 points per game in their last 10 games played and 50.0 points per game in their last three meetings. The Rams have gone over the 54-point total in three out of their six games played, including two out of their three losses. The Falcons have reached the 54 total in their last two games played, both losses as well. The Rams don’t have a dependable running game right now and Todd Gurley is still questionable for this game. They will have to ride Jared Goff here. The Rams defense has allowed 105 points in their last three outings and Matt Ryan is coming off a four-touchdown effort. When you have two struggling teams facing each other, they both want to go big.
Prediction: Over 54