Los Angeles Rams 2019 NFL Season Betting Guide

Los Angeles Rams 2019 NFL Season Betting Guide

Written by on June 14, 2019

Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams might have needed one of the worst blown calls in NFL history to reach Super Bowl 53 last season, but once they got there, opposite the perennially-powerful New England Patriots, they failed in epic fashion while never challenging Tom Brady and company.

Now, after getting man-handled by the Pats to cap off last season, it remains to be seen whether the Rams – and quarterback Jared Goff in particular – had their collective psyches damage by New England. Whether the Rams reach the double-0digit win mark for the third straight season under head coach Sean McVay or whether they take a step backwards remains to be seen, but there are several things you need to know about the Rams before they take to the gridiron for the upcoming 2019 NFL regular season. Let’s find out what those things are right now.

Los Angeles Rams 2019 NFL Season Betting Guide

Betting Statistics

  • ATS: 13-3 (W-L) / 7-8-1 (ATS) / 3-4-1 (Home) / 4-4-0 (Away) / 6-6-1 (Grass) / 1-2-0 (Turf)
  • O/U: 8-8-0 (W-L) / 6-2-0 (Home) / 2-6-0 (Away) / 6-7-0 (Grass) / 2-1-0 (Turf) / 56.9 (Total)
While the Rams went a stellar 13-3 SU last season, they also struggled to cover the chalk by going 7-8-1 ATS. The Rams cashed in just three times at home a year ago, so despite their prolific scoring, they didn’t come through for their betting backers very often last season. In addition to that, L.A.’s propensity for putting points on the board didn’t help them play Over the total more often than not as the Rams finished a dead-even 8-8 against the O/U Total.

Offense

  • Total Yards: 421.1 / Rank 2
  • Passing Yards: 281.7 / Rank 5
  • Rushing Yards: 139.4 /Rank 3
  • Points Scored: 32.9 / Rank 2
  • Field Goal %: 82.9 / Rank 19

Thanks to McVay’s offensive genius, the Rams finished the 2018 season ranked second in total offense, fifth in passing, third in rushing and second in scoring (32.9 ppg). While the Rams didn’t lose much in free agency and clearly don’t have many needs on the offensive side of the ball, they did add former Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles to backup Jared Goff, although I have no idea why they’d want a guy that has shown he’s nothing more than mediocre in every way.

Defense

  • Total Yards: 358.6 / Rank 19
  • Passing Yards: 236.2 / Rank 14
  • Rushing Yards: 122.3 /Rank 23
  • Points Allowed: 24 / Rank 20
  • Field Goal %: 89.3 / Rank 25

Unfortunately, they fell way short of expectations defensively despite acquiring several veterans that were supposed to put them over the top. L.A. ranked an uninspiring 19th in total defense and an even more discouraging 20th in points allowed (24.0 ppg). To address their needs on the defensive side of the ball, the Rams signed former Packers longtime linebacker Clay Matthews and veteran safety Eric Weddle in free agency, while re-signing play-making linebacker Dante Fowler. In addition to that, L.A. also nabbed Washington safety Taylor Rapp in the second round before selecting Michigan cornerback David Long in the third round and Washington defensive tackle Greg Gaines in the fourth round.

Team Leaders

  • Touchdowns: Todd Gurley II (21)
  • Rushing: Todd Gurley II (1168)
  • Passing: Jared Goff (4688)
  • Receiving: Robert Woods (1219)
  • Sacks: Aaron Donald (20.5)
  • Interceptions: John Johnson III (4)

Jared Goff passed for 4,688 yards while completing 64.9 percent of his passes and tossing 32 TD passes and a modest 12 interceptions. Wide receiver Robert Woods led the team in receiving yards, although Brandin Cooks had just six fewer catches and just 15 less yards. Superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald was his usual unstoppable self in leading the league in sacks while safety John Johnson III led the team in interceptions in just his second season.Despite missing two games and getting less than 15 carries in a half-dozen games, star running back Todd Gurley led the team in touchdowns scored and rushing yards. Mysteriously, Gurley got just 30 carries over three playoff games this past postseason, including just four in the NFC Championship game against New Orleans.

Outlook

While I love the job that Sean McVay has done with the Rams in his two seasons at the helm, I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect out of this team seeing how they underachieved at a high level defensively last season and they way they got dominated by New England in Super Bowl 53.

In addition to two tough matchups against their NFC West division rival Seattle, the Rams have a trio of tough contests against NFC South residents, New Orleans, Carolina and Atlanta, not to mention what should be a greatly improved Tampa Bay squad. Not only that, but the Rams have what looks like another three difficult non-division matchups against AFC North playoff contenders, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland. I say temper your expectations for Los Angeles in 2019, they could take a slight step backwards.

While I’ve got the Rams coming up just short of topping their win total odds, It’s quite possible they could beat Pittsburgh on the road in Week 10 and Chicago at hoe a week later, not to mention, Dallas in Week 15. Either way, I believe it’s going to be a close call for the Rams as far as their win total odds are concerned.