Oddsmakers are putting a lot of trust in the Los Angeles Rams’ ability to bounce back with a statement game, against a Philadelphia Eagles team that was having trouble covering on the road even with a healthy roster.
The Rams, with Jared Goff behind center, are 13-point betting favorites on the Week 15 Sunday night NFL odds against the Eagles with a 52.5-point total at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
News that Eagles starting quarterback Carson Wentz (vertebrae) seems unlikely to play has led to the line moving significantly after the Rams opened as 8.5-point favorites. The Eagles are also 1-5 against the spread in their last six road games, while the Rams are 2-6-2 ATS over their last 10 games.
Prospects for the Eagles, whose record of 6-7 SU and 4-9 ATS puts them a half-game out of a NFC wild-card spot, are yoked to whether Wentz or Nick Foles starts. Philadelphia famously won Super Bowl 52 last season with Foles filling in, but the support from the ground game that a backup quarterback typically needs could be wanting thanks to injuries along the offensive line.
If Jay Ajayi and an Eagles run game that is 26th in the NFL in yards-per-rush (4.1) sputters, Foles could face a plethora of obvious passing downs against interior pass rusher extraordinaire Aaron Donald. The Rams allow 7.7 yards per pass, but their 14 interceptions (tied for fifth in the NFL) have somewhat negated that and their best cover cornerback, Aqib Talib, is back in the lineup.
The Rams, who are 11-2 SU and 5-6-2 ATS, have been a double-digit favorite at betting sites on three previous occasions since relocating to Southern California in 2016, and covered each time with the total going UNDER. Whether they can go 4-for-4 on the former count largely rests on the Goff-led offense, which scored a season-low six points last week against the Chicago Bears.
The Rams offensive line has to contend with a formidable defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox, but Los Angeles is sixth in the NFL in yards-per-rush (4.8) and the Eagles are 28th in yards-per-rush allowed (4.9), thanks to recurring containment issues that a running back such as the Rams’ Todd Gurley can exploit. Rams wide receivers Brandin Cooks, Josh Reynolds and Robert Woods would seem to have the matchup edge against an Eagles secondary further depleted by injuries with cornerback Sidney Jones (hamstring) hobbled, but it will be on Goff to take advantage of that.
On paper, the Rams seem to be in good shape. Bettors will have to decide whether their record of 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS in their last five games at home after consecutive road games is an ongoing flaw or something they are due to correct.
The total has gone OVER in six of the Eagles’ last seven road games, according to the OddsShark NFL Database, with an average combined score of 56. The total has gone OVER in four of the Rams’ last five home games, with an average combined score of 71.
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