The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams are set to clash in a pivotal NFC West battle on Sunday (4:25pm ET; TV: Live on Fox).
The Seahawks are coming off a relatively embarrassing road loss to the Bills. They were able to put up 34 points, but their defense was abysmal and gave up 44 points to Allen and the Bills’ explosive offense. Allen had one of his better games of the season while Wilson struggled and threw two bad interceptions.
The Seahawks scored with 1:51 remaining to make the game appear more respectable, but they were really never in it. They were down 17-0 with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Rams are coming off a bye week and currently sit in second place at 5-3. They could tie the Seahawks for first place in the division with a victory. This is one of the more important matchups on the week. So read on for our preview and Seattle Seahawks vs LA Rams predictions.
Expect a Shootout
This is currently the second highest total points on the board with the American bookies and rightfully so. At 55.5 points it is only behind the Cardinals versus the Bills with a current total of over/under 56 points. I expect this to be a shootout with an explosive Seahawks’ offense and their awful defense. The Seahawks give up an average of 30.4 points per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL. The Seahawks offense is 1st in the NFL in average points scored per game at 34.2. I don’t think I have ever seen such a discrepancy between a team’s offensive success and defensive woes.
The Rams have been far less explosive despite having a plethora of weapons. Quarterback Jared Goff has looked awful at times and can’t take advantage of the talent he has around him, especially at the wide receiver position. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are both studs. Woods can easily stretch the field while Kupp does much of his work underneath the coverage. This is one of the better wide receiver duos in the NFL.
Goff’s last start, before the bye week, against the Dolphins was one of the worst of his career. Goff had two interceptions, two lost fumbles, and was sacked twice. One of the fumbles was returned 78 yards for a touchdown. Goff does not instill confidence and many are wondering how much longer he will be allowed to start.
The Rams have entirely too many weapons to be so average on offense. The Rams rank 22nd in the NFL in average points per game with 24.1. If there is a team to get right against it is this Seattle defense. I think with the extra time to prep, head coach Sean McVay will have a great offensive scheme drawn up to put more points on the board against this Swiss cheese defense.
Our Betting Preview’s Seahawks vs Rams Predictions & Picks Recommendations
I expect this to be a shootout. The over/under at 55.5 points is quite a high number, but I think this game can comfortably go over mainly thanks to a bad Seattle defense and their league best offense.
MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson will look to bounce back off a bad loss to the Bills. He will need to limit the turnovers, which I think he can do. Wilson has been strong off a loss and is equally as successful as an underdog. In his career he is 24-12-4 against the spread off a loss and 23-9-2 ATS as an underdog. Both these trends lend to betting the Seahawks as slight road underdogs.
The Rams offense, mainly due to the ineptitude of starting quarterback Jared Goff, may have a difficult time keeping up with the Seahawks. Seattle’s defense will have a difficult time making enough stops for this to go under, but ultimately Wilson and the Seahawks’ high-flying offense will be rolling this week.
We are going to be playing both the over and the Seahawks on the moneyline. We are more confident in Seattle to win outright so we are going to opt for the ML instead of the spread. We are also going to be putting more on the Seahawks win than the over, but expect both to hit. Since 2018 the over is 8-0 when Seahawks are underdogs. I expect a 34-27 victory for the Seahawks to remain in first place in the division. These are the Seattle Seahawks vs LA Rams predictions for this game:
- Go over 55.5 total points being scored @ -105 with BetOnline. It is -110 with Bovada, Intertops and Bookmaker.
- Take the Seahawks on the moneyline @ best odds of +108 with Bookmaker.
Alex Uplinger is a sports betting analyst, writer, podcast producer and an expert on NFL and college basketball. As well as his football previews for USA Betting, Alex produces and co-hosts an NFL show for Full Slate and a sports betting podcast on the Blue Wire Network.