On Sunday afternoon, the surprising Los Angeles Rams travel across country to take on the disappointing New York Giants in a game that the Rams should win. Boasting of one of the league’s top offenses, the Rams bring a high scoring attack that the Giants can’t match. The only question heading into this one is whether or not the Giants can keep this game from being a blowout. Kickoff inside MetLife Stadium is at 1 PM ET.
Since 1999, the Giants have posted a 7-3 record against the Rams, including a 7 game winning streak. They have also won 3 straight games at home during that span. The two teams played last year in London and the Giants won that game 17-10.
The Rams (5-2) aren’t the same team from last year or the last decade. This is a new, exciting team that has an aerial attack to go with their ground game. They are putting up 378 total yards per game and look like a playoff contender. The Rams are also coming off their bye week and have won 2 straight games.
The Giants (1-6) are done for the season. There’s no chance of any historic comeback on the year. The team has a bad offensive line, no running game, and 4th string receivers starting. The Big Blue is definitely making their fans “blue” from sadness over the ineptness and lost season. Despite coming off a bye week, there’s nothing they can do to fix all of their problems.
The spread opened with the Giants getting 3.5 points and it has remained unchanged. The Over/Under has dropped from an opening of 43.5 points to 42 total points.
I’m actually surprised that this spread is only 3.5 points. Both teams are coming off a bye week, but they are far apart in level of talent and production.
The Rams defense is only allowing 19.7 ppg, which is 11th in the league and the Giants are 17th at 22.3 ppg. However, the Giants have not played an offense like this since their losses to Tampa and Philly over a month ago. And, that was when they had all of their players.
This week, the Giants will have to try and stop a Rams offense that’s the 2nd highest scoring team in the league with 30.3 ppg. They’re the #9 offense in total yards per game at 378.9 and they feature the #6 rushing offense with Todd Gurley, who is 5th in the league with 627 rushing yards.
The Giants allow 120.7 rushing yards per game and have only held one team to under 100 rushing yards this season. Additionally, they allow 269 passing yards per game, which is 28th in the league. The Giants are going to have a tough time stopping this Rams offense and I expect LA to reach their season average of points this weekend.
On the offensive side of the ball, Eli Manning has only completed 7 of 21 targets to his receivers for 67 yards and 1 TD over the last two games. Additionally, they have one of the worst rush offenses in the league at just 83.3 ypg. The Rams have an aggressive defense and were a touchdown drop away from being 6-1.
For the season, the Rams are 3-0 on the road with wins at Jacksonville, Dallas and San Francisco. The Giants are currently 0-3 at home. The Giants are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 home games. The Rams are 3-1 ATS in their last 4 games and are 2-1 ATS in their 3 road games this year.
I expect the Rams to light up the Giants this weekend. Look for Gurley to break 100 yards rushing and add 2 touchdowns on the ground. He will also factor into the passing game as Goff will cross the 250 yard threshold and at least 1 TD. The Rams defense will get at least 1 turnover and dominate the line of scrimmage. This will end up being an ugly game by time the final whistle blows. Look for LA to win 31-17.