NFL Week 12 Betting Odds - Saints v Rams

The 8-2 New Orleans Saints will travel to Los Angeles to take on the 7-3 Rams in this Sunday afternoon matchup with each team coming of very different weeks. The Saints won their eighth game in a row with an improbable overtime win over the Washington Redskins. They trailed by 15 points with less than 6 minutes to go but came back for the 34-31 victory. Los Angeles ended a 4 game win streak with a disappointing 24-7 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Their offense had averaged over 35 points per game during the 4 game win streak and the 7 points scored was their lowest output of the season. To add injury to insult, receiver Robert Woods suffered a shoulder injury and is out for this game. Woods leads the team with 4 touchdown catches and over 700 receiving yards and his absence will be felt.

The Saints offense gained 545 yards last week and was led by Drew Brees who finished with a passer rating of 106. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 385 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Four different receivers had at least 74 yards with Coby Fleener and Michael Thomas leading the team with 91 each. The team averaged 7 yards per rush gaining 160 yards on 23 carries with Mark Ingram leading the team with 134 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, they allowed the Redskins to gain 478 yards and weren’t able to force a turnover. They sacked Kirk Cousins twice and had six tackles for losses. For the year, the Saints defense has allowed their opponents to average 19.6 points and 345 yards per game.

The Rams offense was limited to 270 yards last week, which is 116 yards less than their season average of 386. They really struggled running the ball gaining just 45 yards on 17 carries. Todd Gurley led the team with 37 yards and a touchdown. Jared Goff completed 23 of 37 passes for 225 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His favorite target was Robert Woods who had 8 catches for 81 yards. Defensively, they allowed Minnesota to gain 451 yards, including 171 rushing yards on just 35 carries. Six different Vikings receivers had a reception gain at least 10 yards. They were not able to force any turnovers nor were they able to sack Case Keenum. On the season, Los Angeles has allowed their opponents to average 18.6 points and 352 yards per game.

The Rams will have home field advantage and are favored by 2.5 points despite having a worse record than the Saints. They have gone 6-4 against the spread this season including 3-2 at home. New Orleans has gone 6-4 against the spread this season including 2-3 on the road. Both teams have comfortable first place leads in their divisions. It is the Saints who enter this game as the hotter team and the injury to Woods takes away one of the Rams potent offensive weapons.