NFL betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Thursday, January 4, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
Betting Notes - Falcons at Rams
January 3, 2018
By Bookmaker
Falcons vs. Rams Betting Notes for Wild Card Weekend
The Los Angeles Rams have made a huge turnaround this season, evolving from one of the worst offensive teams in the league to a juggernaut that ended the dominance of the Seahawks in the NFC West.
Now, the Rams are up for their biggest task of the season, a game against the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons in Wild Card Weekend.
Welcome Back to Westwood
It's been 24 years since the City of Angels hosted an NFL playoff game. Back then, it was the Los Angeles Raiders who were playing in the postseason. Now, it's the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams last hosted a postseason affair in Tinseltown in the 1986 playoffs.
The Rams haven't played in any playoff game since 2005, and they haven't won a game at home since they were playing back in the old Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis in 2001.
Dirty Birds Down on the Road
The Falcons had a magical run to get to the Super Bowl last year, and they came up just a play or two short of claiming their first ever Lombardi Trophy. That said, the path to the Super Bowl was paved with nothing but home games.
On the road, Atlanta has been far different.
The Falcons are 0-4 SU and ATS on the road since their last away playoff victory in 2003. Most of the games weren't all that close, including their last road playoff game against the Giants in 2012. New York won that affair 24-2.
Head-to-Head Favors Falcons
These two teams don't play each other all that often anymore. The Falcons and Rams have only played against each other four times since 2008, and all four games have been won by Atlanta.
The Falcons have covered each of the last three meetings these clubs have had since 2010.
Last season, Atlanta paid a visit to the Coliseum and walked out with a resounding 42-14 victory in December. The team was favored by 5-points that day, a far cry from the +4.5 line they're up against 13 months later.
Seven straight affairs between these two have coasted past the total. The winning team has scored at least 28 points in each game, and you'd think there's a decent chance that happens again in this one with the Rams leading the NFL in scoring at 29.9 points per game.
Getting Clipped by Best Opponents
No team played a more difficult schedule down the stretch of the season than the Falcons. Four of their last five foes made the postseason, and their road game at Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football wasn't an easy task in the middle of that either.
One glance at Atlanta's offensive numbers, and you'd think that this team was at least suitable in 2017. The team averaged 364.8 yards and 22.1 points per game.
That said, in seven games against teams that qualified for the playoffs this season, the Falcons averaged just 15.0 points per game. They were beaten in each of their first four affairs by current postseason clubs before winning two of their last three, but both victories were at home.
On the road, the Falcons were beaten by the Saints 23-13, the Panthers 20-17 and the Patriots 23-7. Atlanta didn't score more than 22 points against a playoff team all season long, and you'd like to think it will have to do better than that to outscore the Rams in Los Angeles.
Falcons vs. Rams Opening NFL Odds
Falcons at Rams (-4.5, 49.5)
Falcons vs. Rams Current NFL Odds (Updated 1/1)
Falcons at Rams (-6, 48)