NFL Betting: Beleaguered Rams Come Face to Face with Seahawks
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | Oct. 28, 2013
Whatever momentum the St. Louis Rams may have had after knocking off the Houston Texans on the road in Week 6 was quickly dashed with a Week 7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Perhaps that’s why they’re not just underdogs, but heavy ones, against a solid Seattle Seahawks team this Monday night on the NFL point spread.
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Heading into the primetime event, the Rams will face a 13.5-point spread against a Seahawks team that has only lost one game so far this season – and to a formidable Indianapolis Colts squad, no less.
Is Seattle as close to a Super Bowl as their NFL futures suggest? With 9/2 odds of winning Super Bowl XLVIII, they’re the second most highly regarded club in the sportsbook. They may never quite leapfrog veteran Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, but given their success so far this fall, we’d say that’s not such a bad thing.
The Seahawks have not only downed the same Texans team that the Rams beat, but also the Panthers to whom St. Louis most recently lost. A crushing victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, however, has been perhaps the truest indication of just how dominant the Russell Wilson-led team can be.
Between Wilson, the absolutely stellar Marshawn Lynch and a defensive unit spearheaded by backfield menace Richard Sherman, the Seahawks have made Pete Carroll look every bit the franchise savior he was expected to be when Seattle brought him back in 2010.
We don’t like to get ahead of ourselves when looking toward mid-season contests (even if under the national spotlight of Monday Night Football), but after the Seahawks battled as far as the NFC semifinals last winter, it’s hard not to imagine what they’re capable of this time around.
A win over the rams in Week 8 would put the young team in excellent position heading into the second half of the season, causing even the most skeptical among the NFL betting community to reconsider where they stand among the league as whole.
The Rams, however, disadvantaged as they may be, aren’t likely to just roll over and hand a victory to an upstart NFC West rival. It wasn’t long ago when visions of Sam Bradford and a rag-tag Rams roster were considered long shot playoff contenders.
Alas, Tavon Austin and Jared Cook haven’t exactly been the game-changing presences that many fans had hoped and Bradford was lost for the season with a torn ACL putting all the more pressure on replacement Kellen Clemens to step in and pull off the near impossible.
Considering that this team has yet to register a single rushing touchdown this season, it’s not like they have a strong running game to fall back on while their new play-caller under center adapts to his new starting role.
Given the uncertainty at play in St. Louis’ lineup, we’re not only doubtful that the Rams can deal damage to the Seahawks, but also even cover that near-two touchdown spread. Despite the fact that they beat the Niners early this season, the two are still neck and neck in the division standings putting all the more emphasis on winnable games like this one right here.
That doesn’t bode well for any Rams constituents, save for the two or three fantasy owners banking on an increased workload out of Zac Stacy and Daryl Richardson.
Needless to say, it takes a bold NFL thinker to bet on a team like the Rams this week, but that’s what the game is all about. Also available to be wagered upon is the over/under tally currently set at 43.5 points.
