Atlanta Falcons vs Los Angeles Rams Previews and Picks 09/18/2022

 

Game Time:  4:05 PM ET, Thursday, September 18th, 2022

Venue:  Sofi Stadium, Los Angeles California

Where to Watch:  FOX

 

FanDuel: point spread: Rams -10.5; 47.5 O/U

DraftKings: Rams -10.5; 47.5 O/U

BetMGM: 

Caesars: 

 

Falcons: 0-1, NFC South

Rams: 0-1, NFC West

An NFC matchup between two teams looking for their first win.  The difference between them is of course the Falcons have had a couple bad seasons in a row… while the Rams are the defending Super Bowl Champions.  On those reputations, the spread is HUGE.  10.5 is the sort of spread that makes people crazy.  The Over/Under line of 47.5 doesn’t seem as crazy… it’s high, but of course to go over would require that the Falcons score a few times… to go Under may be a sign that Matthew Stafford (Rams QB) does not have a “ready to go elbow”.... Something that no gambler can be sure of… yet.

The Atlanta Falcons met the Saints in Week 1 and lost a wild game that conjured very vivid memories of losing that Super Bowl to Tom Brady and the Patriots.  The Falcons looked good against the Saints for 3 quarters of the game.  The Sacked Saints Quarterback Jameis Winston 4 times by exploiting the Saints awful offensive line… and through 3 quarters the Falcons found themselves UP 23-10!  They then added a field goal in the Fourth Quarter to go up 26-10!  A sixteen point lead!  A three SCORE lead or a two touchdown two “go for two” lead!  A real opportunity to simply get a few fourth quarter first downs and run out the clock for the win.  Have you heard that before anywhere? QB Marcus Mariota for the Falcons DID NOT have a bad day.  His offense is now 7th in points and 6th in yards… sure they relied on the run game A LOT.. in fact they are 4th in rushing yards… but they got the loss.  Atlanta may in fact be a good team… depending of course if the Saints Bear out to be a good team this season.  

The Los Angeles Rams got pushed around by the Buffalo Bills in the opening game of the NFL season… in their own house… as they launched their Super Bowl defending season.  They lost 31-10.  They looked very anemic on the offensive line as Matthew Stafford was sacked twice by former Ram Von Miller twice and two more times by other guys.  “Other Guys” is a great way to describe the Bills defense because they look pretty deep at every position.  The Rams offense sputtered… Offseason elbow surgery for Matthew Stafford may or may not have healed all the way… It will be a constant concern… and while Defensive tackle Aaron Donald still looks GREAT and got a sack… he simply can’t do it all… no one can.  The Rams may have fallen victim to their own success… after giving the Big Bag to Aaron Donald, a raise to Matthew Stafford, and signing WR Allen Robinson (who was only targeted TWICE in the first game).. Thye simply had no money to replace the dwindling offensive line.  If I were the Rams owner I would personally go to the house of Andrew Whitworth and beg him to take small money to play situationally… and promise him a future of coaching and consulting.  Now all of that may be an overreaction to the fact that the Buffalo Bills are that good.  It is entirely possible (and likely) that the Rams will roll off 3-4 wins in a row… but they can not be happy about finding themselves 27th in points scored and 31st in yards gained after the first game.  To pair those numbers with awful defensive numbers after Game 1 will need a strong bounce back game just to look in the mirror.  The team is also starting to feel the hurt of trading multiple first round picks to get Jared Goff followed by trading multiple first round picks to move Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford… NFL teams need to restock the shelves constantly  and first round picks are a great way to do that.

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RECENT FORM

Falcons: 7-10 last season.  3rd in NFC South, no playoffs.

Rams: 12-5 last season.  Winners of the NFC West, The NFC, and the Super Bowl

 

The Atlanta Falcons are 7th in points with 26, 6th in yards with 416, 18th in passing yards with 215.

The Los Angeles Rams are 27th in points with 10, 31st in yards gained with 243, 25th in passing yards with 191.

The Atlanta Falcons are 21st in defense of yards with 385, 18th in defense of passing with 234, and 24th in defense of rushing with 151.  They should have held in that 4th quarter… They would be league leaders.

The Los Angeles Rams are 26th in defense of yards with 413, 26th in defense of passing with 292, and 19th in defense of rushing with 121.  They got cooked.

Our prediction for Sunday, September 18th is… Rams 30 - Falcons 10

Bet on the Rams.  The spread is BIG… but still the Rams.  The contrast between the Bills offensive line and the falcons will open the door for an Aaron Donald pure punishment of Marcus mariota… not only that Head Coach Sean Mcvay will be able to make adjustments which he is one of the best at.  Avoid the O/U… It is not time yet.

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Falcons: RB D Williams (ribs) Quest ** TE J FitzPatrick (undisclosed) Out ** CB I Oliver (knee) Out

Rams: 

Falcons: QB Marcus Mariota, RB Damien Williams, WR KhaFarel Hodge, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, WR Bryan Edwards, TE Kyle Pitts, LT Jake Matthews, LG Elijah Wilkenson, C Drew Dalman, RG Chris Lindstrom, RT Kaleb McGary

Rams: QB Matt Stafford, RB Cam Akers, WR Cooper Kupp, WR Allen Robinson, WR Van Jefferson, TE Tyler Higbee, LT Jake Noteboom, LG David Edwards, C Brian Allen, RG Bobby Evans, RT Rob Havenstein

Falcons: 

Touchdowns: Cordelle Patterson 1

Rushing yards: Cordelle Patterson 120

Passing Yards: Marcus Mariota 215

Receiving Yards: Drake London 74

Rams: 

Rushing Yards: Darrell Henderson Jr 47

Passing Yards: Matthew Stafford 240

Receiving Yards: Cooper Kupp 128

Sacks: Aaron Donald 1

 

Partly Cloudy, Humidity 62%, 81*, Wind 7 mph.  The heat wave is over… The Excessive Heat Warning is done… Los Angeles is returning to a wonderful weather city.  The persistent humidity will make it feel awful however.