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In a surprising move, first-year Washington coach Ron Rivera is benching young quarterback Dwayne Haskins after just four games in favor of Rivera’s former Carolina quarterback Kyle Allen. Washington is still a sizable home dog Sunday vs. the LA Rams.

How to Bet Rams at Washington NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
Where: FedExField
TV: Fox
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: TV
Opening NFL Lines: Rams -7.5 (45)

Last meeting

The teams last met Week 2 of the 2017 season and the Rams were upset 27-20 at home by Washington. Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play for the win. Cousins is now with Minnesota. The Rams had tied the game at 20 on Greg Zuerlein’s 40-yard field goal with 7:16 to play. Rams QB Jared Goff was 15 of 25 for 224 yards, with one TD and one interception.

Including postseason play, the Redskins are 26-13-1 all-time against the Rams dating back to the Redskins’ 16-7 win against the Cleveland Rams during Washington’s 1937 championship season. The game will represent the teams’ 11th meeting in the last 15 seasons.

Why Bet on LA Rams? | 2020 NFL Expert Analysis

The Rams (3-1) didn’t look great last week but beat the Giants 17-9 – they also have wins over Dallas and Philadelphia already and thus could sweep the NFC East with a victory here. Against New York, Darious Williams made a diving pick at the Los Angeles 7 with 52 seconds to play. The combined total yardage between the Rams and Giants in the first half was 183 yards, the lowest first-half total in a game this season. The Rams finished with 243 total yards, their fewest this season.

Jared Goff completed 25-of-32 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. He saved his day with a late 55-yard touchdown to Cooper Kupp. Goff hardly went downfield at all otherwise. Malcolm Brown rushed nine times for 37 times and had five catches for 19 yards. Darrell Henderson rushed eight times for 22 yards and had a catch for 16. Rams coach Sean McVay said he expects tailback Cam Akers to return Sunday. The rookie has missed the past two weeks with a rib injury. L.A. will use all three running backs.

This season, the Rams’ rushing attack has returned in a big way after struggling in 2019 with Todd Gurley. Henderson is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, 11th-best among qualified rushers, and as a team, Los Angeles ranks third in schedule-adjusted rushing EPA per game. Rushing makes up 36 percent of the Rams’ total yardage this season, which ranks seventh in the league. The Rams are averaging 5.3 yards per carry on first down.

Place-kicking has been an issue, with a blocked extra point against Philadelphia and two missed field goals (out of seven) — including a 29-yarder — against Dallas in Week 1.

Why Bet on Washington? | 2020 NFL Expert Analysis

Washington fell to 1-3 with last Sunday’s 31-17 loss to Baltimore. Second-year QB Dwayne Haskins was actually pretty solid in completing 32-of-45 passes for 313 yards (season high) and adding three rushes for three yards and a touchdown. Haskins got his first 300-yard game in a pass-heavy second half that found Washington down multiple scores.

Yet, Coach Ron Rivera benched Haskins this week for Kyle Allen. Allen’s familiarity with the offense played a crucial factor in the decision. He spent two years in Carolina under Rivera and current Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Allen started 12 games for the Panthers last season. Allen has started 13 games in his career (1 in 2018, 12 in 2019 – all with Carolina/ Rivera). He started 6-1 ATS, but went 1-4-1 ATS in his final six starts. Allen is 2-0 ATS as a touchdown underdog.

In fact Haskins won’t even be the backup – Alex Smith will be. Smith will be active for the first time since he was carted off the field in November 2018 after suffering a gruesome leg break that required 17 surgeries to repair the bones and clean out a persistent infection.

Defensively, Washington is No. 1 in adjusted sack rate after four games at 11.0%. It’s not surprising because Washington was fourth in adjusted sack rate a year ago and added Chase Young to the defensive line this season. Young, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, missed last week but is trending toward playing on Sunday.

This will be Washington’s second all-time game against former offensive coordinator Sean McVay, who spent seven seasons in various capacities with the Redskins from 2010-16 before taking the Rams’ head coaching job. It also will be Washington’s first game against former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, who spent the 2017-19 seasons in a variety of offensive coaching positions.