Rams Look to Cool Down Hot Raiders
The hot-then-not Las Vegas Raiders and struggling Los Angeles Rams will square off this Thursday night. Tune in on Amazon Prime to catch all the action.
The 5-7 Las Vegas Raiders and 3-9 Los Angeles Rams have been two of the most extremely underachieving teams this season. The Rams, who won the Super Bowl ten months ago in the very stadium this game will be played in, have been especially disappointing with their first-to-worst descension.
The Raiders have managed to win three in a row, after a stretch of three consecutive losses.
Both teams will be looking to salvage what they still can from this embarrassing season, so here are some key factors to look forward to in this one.
Raiders’ Offense Explosive
The Raiders have been getting it done on offense this season, whether it’s passing or running the ball.
In the passing game, they rank ninth in the league with 241.5 yards/game. Star wide receiver Davante Adams has the league’s fourth-most receiving yards with 1,176 and is tied for the league-lead with 12 touchdown receptions.
They have a good matchup this week with a Rams secondary that is ranked 22nd, allowing 236.3 passing yards a game. This may be the biggest matchup mismatch in this game and Vegas should be able to be effective through the air.
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs leads the league with 1,303 rushing yards and is tied for third with 10 TDs on the ground. He will have a tough matchup, however, as the Rams come in as just one of four teams in the NFL allowing an average of under 100 rushing yards a game (96.7). If the passing game is successful early and the Raiders take the lead, Jacobs will need to be effective on his touches to allow his team to keep its advantage. He will have his moments of success, but overall LA should be able to slow him down.
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Poor Rams Offense vs. Poor Raiders Defense
The Rams offense has been absolutely disgraceful for a team that was so dominant and won a Super Bowl a year ago. The team ranks 25th in the NFL with an average of just 195.8 passing yards a game.
Luckily LA will face a Las Vegas team ranked third-last with an average of 258.1 passing yards a game allowed. Since the Rams have had such great success recently and still have the ability to pass the ball well, they should be able to take advantage of this matchup and find enough success through the air to stay in this one.
In the run game LA is third-worst in the league, averaging just 87.3 rushing yards a game. They will face a Raiders front seven responsible for allowing the 14th-least rushing yards a game with just 113.8. This should be ‘tough sledding’ for RB Cam Akers and the Rams running game.
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Teams Trending Opposite Direction
While the Raiders’ (3-2) and Rams’ (0-5) records in their last five games suggest a great difference in momentum for the two squads, their point differentials tell a different story. Vegas is averaging just a 1.4-point victory during that span, while the Rams are losing by an average of eight points. Both teams are playing in close games and this one should be no different.
The Rams are at home and will not allow this one to get ugly. Neither team will be able to run the ball and dominate possession, so it should stay close, but Las Vegas should prevail.
Both teams seem likely to take a pass-heavy approach to this game, as the run-game matchups favor both defenses. Both teams are very capable of scoring lots of points through the air, and that very well could be the case in this one. Expect something like a 27-24 Raiders final score.
Prediction: Raiders +6 over Rams (-110 at Golden Nugget)
Watch: Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime
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