The Time is Now for the LA Rams. Ground & Pound – The Bengals & Chargers Battling to Return to the Post Season. Is it Finally Tua Time in Miami?
Jacksonville Jaguars 2-9 @ LA Rams7-4 (Odds Line: Rams -13)
This is a HUGE game for the LA Rams! On paper, the Jaguars might not immediately leap out as being tough opponents this season but when you’re on a 3 game losing streak and have been outscored 95-54 in your last 3 games, things have to change quickly!
The Rams aren’t running the ball effectively and QB Matthew Stafford keeps throwing pick 6s – one in each of those past 3 games. To make matters worse, this comes at a time when the team’s social media page declared they are “all in” this season following the acquisition of high profile players, Von Miller and Odell Beckham. It hasn’t gone according to plan.
The good news for the Rams is that they are 5-0 this year against teams with a losing record, while just 2-3 against teams with a winning record. While the Jags have had some notable performances, they’ve conceded 30 points or more on each of their 3 games against NFC West opponents this season.
The Rams are at home. It’s a must win game for them in their current predicament. It’s time for them to put up or shut up. Take the Rams!
Rams -13
LA Chargers 6-5 @ Cincinnati Bengals 7-4 (Odds Line: Bengals -3)
It’s been a while since the LA Chargers or the Cincinnati Bengals were relevant post season contenders – 2015 was the last time the Bengals made the playoffs, while 2018 was the last season the Chargers were there. A win in this matchup would certainly go some way to changing that for both of these teams. Both have exciting young quarterbacks and it’ll be the first time Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow have faced each other since being drafted last year.
The Bengals have already flattered to deceive this season. They followed up a big win over Baltimore with back to back losses. That makes me wary, despite riding a 2 game win streak – and a comprehensive demolition of the Steelers.
The Chargers have the offensive firepower but their defense is frail – particularly their run defense, where they are the worst in the NFL! That is where this game will be decided. Bengals running back, Joe Mixon is enjoying the best form of his NFL career. He as 13 TDs this season already – scoring 2 in each of his last 4 games! He’s gone over 100 scrimmage yards in each of the last 3 games and if that isn’t enough of a concern, rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase is a home run threat everytime he touches the ball. He leads all rookies with 906 receiving yards this season and 8 TDs.
It’s a handful to deal with and while the Chargers can point to Allen, Williams and Ekeler as their big weapons, they haven’t shown they can play a lot of defense so far – that’s the difference between these two teams and it leads me to favour Cincinnati.
Bengals -3
New York Giants 4-7 @ Miami Dolphins 5-7 (Odds Line: Total Points – Under 40.5)
Don’t look now but the Dolphins are riding a 4 game winning streak and QB Tua Tagovailoa has completed 80% of his passes in each of the last 2 weeks. Complementing that is a defense which has yielded just 46 points over those 4 games – total!
Now they host a New York Giants side, who themselves are coming off an impressive win following the sacking of offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett. The problem is, the Giants have only scored more than 20 points once in their last 4 games – even last weekend, they only scored 13! Now comes the news that starting QB Daniel Jones is dealing with a neck injury and his status for Sunday is up in the air. If he can’t play, Mike Glennon will step in.
Either way, this doesn’t bode well for the Giants offense. As we saw last weekend though their defense continues to pay hard. They’ve only given up more than 20 points once in the last 5 games and as a result none of their last 5 games have produced more than 40 total points. Equally only two of Miami’s last 5 games have produced over 40 total points – even then that was 41 against the Jets and 43 against Carolina last weekend. Add into the equation that 4 of the last 6 matchups between these two teams have produced 37 total points or less, the under for this spread looks very appealing.
Total points – Under 40.5
