New Orleans Saints Vs. Los Angeles Rams Odds, Prediction, & Pick

Saints vs. Rams Odds

Week 16 of the NFL season will begin with a matchup featuring and the New Orleans Saints against and the Los Angeles Rams. Entering play, both teams are 7-7, meaning that this is an early playoff game in many respects. The winner will control their own destiny to make the postseason, with the loser facing an uphill battle heading into the final two weeks of the schedule.

Ahead of kickoff in this matchup, oddsmakers have priced the Rams as 4.5-point favorites on the spread. The total for this contest is set at over/under 45.5 points.

Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where NFL bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.

New Orleans Saints

What to expect from , Saints offense

Starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk has been ruled out for tonight’s action, which is a major loss for this unit. According to PFF, Ramczyk ranks 24th of 81 tackles in run block grade this year and is 30th of 81 player at his position in pass protection. In the only other game Ramczyk missed this year, New Orleans averaged only 3.6 yards per carry against the Jaguars in Week 7.

Since their bye week, New Orleans ranks 18th in offensive EPA/play and 11th in offensive success rate. This group has scored at least 24 points in three consecutive games, but it is worth noting that each of those three contests were against bottom-tier defenses. The Saints are far from an offensive juggernaut, especially without Ramczyk on the field and with playing at less than 100 percent health.

Saints defense looking to weather injury bug

Heading into Week 15, the Saints have been hit by the injury bug more than almost any defense in the NFL. On Thursday, this unit will be without safety Marcus Maye, defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, and cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Roach and Lattimore are the two biggest blows for this group, with Lattimore being the team’s top coverage corner and Roach being one of the team’s best run defenders. According to PFF, Lattimore ranks 42nd out of 118 qualified cornerbacks this season in coverage grade. Roach ranks 12th out of 134 players at his position as a run defender.

New Orleans’ defense is currently missing a lot of talent that made them successful earlier in the year, which could be problematic against a talented Los Angeles offense.