Seattle Seahawks (10-2 SU, 7-5 ATS) vs. Los Angeles Rams (7-5 SU, 8-4 ATS)
Week 14 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday Night Football, December 8, 2019 at 8:20PM EST
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
TV: NBC
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: SEA -2.5/LAR +2.5
Over/Under Total: 46.5
The Seattle Seahawks come to the City of Angels for a big NFC West matchup on Sunday Night Football with the Los Angeles Rams. In week five, the Seahawks barely beat the Rams, 30-29, at Century Link and now go for the season sweep against the Rams. Even with the Rams having done well the last few seasons, the Seahawks usually match up pretty well with L.A. On Sunday, the Rams showed some signs that they're resuming their prior form with a thorough 34-7 win over the Cardinals. To stand a chance to get back to the playoffs, the defending conference champions need to unseat a Seahawks squad coming off their fifth win a row in a big 37-30 win at home over the Vikings on Monday Night Football. Now in the lead in the NFC West, they look to continue making their postseason case.
A lot changes in a season and that's especially true for these two squads, each of whom have gone through a few different manifestations this season already. Still, when divisional foes face each other for the second time of the season, it's hard to not look at the first game for clues. In that game, we saw the clutch Russell Wilson with some late drama and a TD drive to nick a one-point win at home, 30-29. Wilson completed 17 of 23 throws with 4 TD strikes, with Chris Carson over 100 on the ground. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf each hauled in scoring grabs. But the Rams saw some good things that day, as well. Goff was moving the ball with 395 yards through the air. Todd Gurley ran for two touchdowns and the Rams look for more offensive success this week, along with a little more clutch-play and stoutness on the other side of the ball.
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To truly re-ascend to their former stature and maybe make a playoff run, the Rams have little margin for error. And a win over the Cardinals on Sunday hardly signals a return to glory, but it's a good start. It also helps put in the rearview a bad loss to the Ravens the previous week. They've won four out of six and on Sunday, we saw an offense getting back on the right track, with Jared Goff throwing for 424 yards with a lot of the supporting cast getting involved. The defense allowed one lone score and really got after Kyler Murray, forcing him into a rough day. Other than their flop against Baltimore two games ago, this defense has been making strides and on Sunday, we saw what can happen when both sides of the ball play well.
Defensive spark notwithstanding, the Rams' offense needs to shine now if they're going to stand a chance. They are looking up at two teams in their own division in the Seahawks and Niners with a gaggle of other teams with better W-L records in a top-heavy conference. On Sunday, we finally saw a big cast of weapons shine. Robert Woods had 172 yards receiving, with Tyler Higbee going for 107 and a score. Cooper Kupp had a TD catch, with Josh Reynolds and Brandin Cooks getting involved. Todd Gurley isn't looking like the monster of old, but with 95 yards and a score, is rounding into much better form in the late-season with some better showings of late.
The turnaround of the Rams' defense has been impressive. That might be hard to say with the memory still fresh of their 45-6 loss to Baltimore, but a lot of defenses have been made to look foolish by Lamar Jackson and Company this season. If you take out that game, the Rams have allowed a combined total of 51 points in their last five games. On Sunday, a lot of guys shined, with Aaron Donald, Dexter Fowler, Cory Littleton, Clay Matthews, and Sebastian Joseph-Day all getting sacks. Safety Taylor Rapp had a pick and the defense looked very good. Against Seattle, will we see more of the same or closer to what we saw against Baltimore?
The Seahawks offense is in high gear with Russell Wilson playing in MVP form. With another good game on MNF, he really has this offense on the move. Chris Carson ran for over 100 yards and Seattle had over 200 total rushing yards, with Rashaad Penny also having a big game on the ground. There are no stars aerially perhaps, but between Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, David Moore, Josh Gordon, and Jacob Hollister, they have enough weapons to complement their robust ground game. In nine of 12 games this season, they have scored at least 27 points.
The Seattle defense might not be great and on Monday, they allowed Minnesota to hang around and stay in the game, unable to put them away. It's quite the turnaround from the Seattle Super Bowl champion of not that long ago that was all defense. With Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah up front, they're better and can be quite disruptive Trey Flowers had a big interception last week and the secondary has some playmaking upside, despite not being that stout overall. Against a Rams offense on the road after the big offensive game LA had last week, it's a cause for concern for potential Seattle backers.
This game is big, but especially for the Rams. Granted, Seattle is playing for a top seeding in the playoffs, as a slipup would deposit them in the five-seed of the playoffs. But for the Rams, their entire season is at stake. After coming close the first time in Seattle, I see the Rams capitalizing on some decent momentum and getting the cover at home.
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