A pair of 7-7 teams with plenty to play for meet when the Rams and Saints provide this week’s taste of NFL Thursday night betting action.
Get a free $60 worth of professional sports picks.
Start Winning Today!
NFL Betting Odds
The Week 16 NFL betting market opened the Rams as four-point favorites for Thursday night, with an over/under of right around 44. Early betting action then edged that spread to 4.5.
Saints-Rams Betting Preview
New Orleans owns back-to-back victories after beating the Giants last Sunday 24-6. The Saints only led that game 7-6 at the half but shut out New York in the second half and covered at -6.5.
New Orleans held the Giants to just 193 yards of offense and without a touchdown while beating the bleep out of New York QB DeVito.
Two games ago, the Saints beat Carolina 28-6. But let’s face it, the Giants and Panthers ain’t much at the moment. Prior to that, New Orleans lost three games in a row to the Vikings, Falcons, and Lions.
At 7-7 overall, the Saints are tied for the lead in the NFC South with Tampa Bay. However, New Orleans does not own the tie-breaker, thanks to a loss to the Buccaneers earlier this season. The teams meet again next week.
The Saints also trail these Rams by a tie-breaker in the battle for the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff standings.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles is 4-1, both SU and ATS in its last five outings after defeating Washington last Sunday 28-20. And that game wasn’t as close as that final score might indicate. The Rams led 20-0 in the third quarter and 28-7 in the fourth before taking their foot off the gas. But they hung on for the cover at -6.5.
Los Angeles out-gained the Commanders 445-297, and almost half the yardage the Rams defense gave up came in garbage time. LA also ran the ball 37 times for 196 yards.
So the Rams have now out-gained three of their last four opponents and out-rushed four of their last five foes.
Two weeks ago, Los Angeles lost a crazy game in overtime at Baltimore. But prior to that, the Rams won three in a row over Seattle, Arizona, and Cleveland.
At 7-7 overall, Los Angeles owns the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff standings. For the moment.
These teams just met back in November of last season, a 27-20 Saints home win. The Rams actually out-played New Orleans that day, but the big play of the game went the Saints’ way, a long 3rd-quarter touchdown that put New Orleans up two scores.
On the injury front
Saints WR Chris Olave missed last week’s game with a bad ankle, and he’s listed as questionable for Thursday.
Common Opponents
These two teams have played two common opponents this season, the Colts and the Packers. New Orleans played those foes to 1-1 both SU and ATS and +26 yards per game, Los Angeles to 1-1 SU and ATS and -33 YPG. However, Rams QB Stafford missed that game against Green Bay, so we consider that yardage figure misleading.
Totals Report
The Unders are 10-4 in Saints games this season which are averaging 41 total points.
The Unders are 8-6 in Rams games, which are averaging 45 points.
The Unders are 125-99 (56 percent) in the NFL this season.
