The 2020 NFL season is coming in hot, which means your betting card for the season needs a double-check. We’re going to be going over a copious amount of NFL futures bets, NFL odds, NFL betting picks and NFL predictions for the 2020 campaign. Sportsbooks have released win totals for every team, and we’re going to examine strengths, weaknesses, schedules and make predictions on the over/under. Right now, we’re looking at the Los Angeles Rams.
Talk about how times have changed for one franchise. The Rams laid an absolute egg against the Patriots in what is one of the most boring Super Bowls I have ever seen over the last three decades. This team wasn’t too boring a season ago, but they couldn’t do any of the simple things to win ball games. Their defense at times was an albatross and the offensive line made Jared Goff look like he has never played football before. The loss of Todd Gurley and the addition of rookie Cam Akers is the biggest storyline. Gurley was an MVP world beater two seasons ago. Sadly, arthritis in his knees took over during their 2019 postseason run and he was never the same last season. Cam Akers is accustomed to making elite plays behind a porous offensive line having played three seasons at Florida State. The Rams are in that same boat. Sean McVay still has a bright future as an offensive guru, but he needs his toys to perform better by not breaking so easily.
The win total has been between 10 and 10.5 these last two seasons, but the experts are still showing a ton of respect for McVay and his Rams. The juice is real for the under and the experts are begging for you to take the over on these NFL odds since it has a decent payout.
Los Angeles Rams Strengths
This team will still be able to matriculate the ball down the field. The pass first offense should have no problems moving the chains. Jared Goff is set to have a bounce back season with Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. That will be a productive tandem that is capable of putting together nearly 90-100 catches each to go with a 1,000 yard season. Touchdowns could be tough to get consistently, depending on if the ground game has any sort of pulse. The defensive side featured the most talented player in football arguably. Aaron Donald just tossed dudes left and right like a beat ‘em up video game (think TMNT in Time IV).Â
Los Angeles Rams Weaknesses
While Aaron Donald is an absolute freak on the defensive line, the rest of the players could not win any individual battles on a consistent basis last season. Jalen Ramsey is still an elite corner, but he needs to show out this year. The secondary was getting torched in several games last season (Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Seattle). That cannot continue if the Rams are serious about making the playoffs. Leonard Floyd was a decent addition at linebacker, but the linebackers in general were a glaring weakness one season ago. If they do not step it up, this defense could get torched all season.
Los Angeles Rams Schedule
Playing four playoff teams in the first six weeks could be tough on a defense that will be searching for answers. Dallas, Philadelphia and now Buffalo all have receivers that can cause nightmares for opposing defensive backs. The Rams will likely have Ramsey shadow the likes of Amari Cooper, DeSean Jackson and Stefon Diggs. It is up to the second, third and fourth corners to improve. The other issue with those three teams is their improved ability to get after the quarterback. Goff isn’t going to make any pass rushers miss a tackle or sack, so improving at getting the ball out of his hands quicker will be key. Weeks 10-17 is one of the toughest end of season schedules for any team in the NFL. The likes of Seattle (two times), Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Arizona (two times) and New England is a rough go. They honestly would be lucky to grab more than one win among those handful.Â
NFL Prediction
The NFL futures odds on OddsShopper shows a decent amount of juice on the under for the Rams win total. That does not come off surprising in any way due to a much improved division and schedule. The wins will be tough to come by this season. There are too many question marks on defense and the offense will only go as far as Jared Goff with a bad offensive line can take them. I like the under here and feel that it won’t even come into play in the final week or so due to a few rough losses in the month of November. If you can get the NFL futures total at 8.5 wins, surely hammer the under even with juice involved. Even at 8, the under is still the solid NFL betting pick and NFL prediction favorite for a team that honestly could go from first in the NFC West two seasons ago to dead last in 2020.
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