NFL Football Betting: Los Angeles Rams at New England Patriots
On paper, this looks like a mismatch as the 4-7 Los Angeles Rams make the long trip cross country to take on the 9-2 New England Patriots. Throw in the pointspread, however, and this could be a very interesting game. The New England Patriots have done little wrong this year. They lost a clunker to Buffalo in their final game without Tom Brady and a home game to Seattle. They’re a perfect 6-0 on the road and 7-1 in Conference. This could be a ‘flat spot’ as they prepare for the home stretch of the season. Their remaining games range from tough (at Denver and at Miami) to tricky (home against Baltimore and the NY Jets). They’ve got a two game lead over the Miami Dolphins atop the AFC East but they can’t sleep on the Fish as Miami has won six straight.
The Los Angeles Rams aren’t going anywhere in their first year back on the West Coast but they’re a very intriguing, enigmatic team. They’ve played their worst at home (1-4) but are a solid 3-3 on the road. And even with two losses under their belt things are going to get more interesting with Jared Goff under center. Goff might not be tearing up the NFL yet but he is showing some promise. More importantly, his presence gives the Rams some semblance of a balanced offense. The more Goff improves the more things open up for running back Todd Gurley. The Rams are coming off their worst defensive effort of the year but have been solid on this side of the ball all season long.
It’s tough to call for an outright upset in this price range but we don’t have to. If the Rams show up and make this game competitive we cash a ticket. This sure looks like a dangerous spot for New England which has just placed Rob Gronkowski on the disabled list, ruling him out for the year. Belichick’s teams don’t have many ‘flat spots’ but when they do this is the time of year it happens (3-6 ATS L9 in Weeks 10 through 13). They’re also on a 6-7 ATS run against opponents with losing records and a 2-4 ATS run against sub .500 teams in the second half of the season. Los Angeles is better on defense than they looked last week and their offense is starting to put the pieces together. An outright upset wouldn’t be the most shocking result of the season.
BET LOS ANGELES RAMS +13.5 OVER NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
