Sean McVay isn’t having a great second-year as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams (+375 to win NFC West) right now, as his team is on a rut. The same could be said about the Atlanta Falcons, who need to turn things around quick before another season slips out of their hands — again. The Falcons are +7500 to win the NFC South.
A return to the Super Bowl isn’t looking good right now for the Rams, who have now lost three straight games after falling prey to the San Francisco 49ers over the weekend, 20-7. The Rams’ offense was simply out of synch and against the Niners, with quarterback Jared Goff passing for a measly total of 78 yards on 13-of-24 completions. Goff was also sacked four times for a loss of 30 yards. The Rams are not going to win many games with that kind of offensive showing, but things should be easier for them in Atlanta, as the Falcons wield one of the lousiest defenses in the NFL this season. The Falcons are allowing 31.0 points per game — second worst in the NFL. Plus, they are also 27th overall against the pass with 271.2 passing yards allowed per contest. All those stats mean that Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Brandin Cooks should have a bigger wiggle room downfield to catch passes and run with the ball. There will be more bad news for the Falcons if running back Todd Gurley, who missed Week 6 due to a thigh injury, will come back and play this Sunday.
The over is 2-1 in the Rams’ last three road games.
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (1-5)
It’s easy to blame Matt Bryant for the Falcons’ 34-33 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale last Sunday, but it wouldn’t have come down to him if Atlanta did a better job defensively. Bryant missed an extra-point kick late in the game that would have tied the contest, which was embarrassing for the veteran. Perhaps more embarrassing for Atlanta was its giving up 340 passing yards and three touchdowns to rookie quarterback Kyler Murray. With Goff and his band coming to town, the Falcons have several days to figure things out on that side of the ball. Otherwise, they will have to rely on Matt Ryan and the offense again. Ryan had 356 passing yards and four touchdowns on 30-of-36 completions. He was fantastic, but he can only carry the team so far. If anything, Ryan might see his targets better than expected against the Rams with LA cornerback Aqib Talib reportedly set to be put on the injured reserve list.
The Falcons are 2-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last three home games.
