Los Angeles Rams at Pittsburgh Steelers Odds & Game Pick
The Pittsburgh Steelers have strung together three straight wins to improve to 4-4 this season and now will welcome the Los Angeles Rams, who are off a bye but have also won two in a row.
Los Angeles had won back-to-back games before getting last week off, but how legitimate is their mini-turnaround? The two teams they beat – the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals – are a combined 1-15. We’ll find out more about Los Angeles this week.
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Details
- Opening Line: LA Rams -3.5
- Current Line: LA Rams -3.5
- Over/Under: 44
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Start Time: 4:25 PM ET
- Last Meeting: Steelers 12 at Rams 6 (9/27/15)
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Overview
The Rams have traveled well dating back to the end of last season as they’re 5-0 against the spread in their last five away from home. The Rams are also a Greg Zuerlein missed field goal — at the end of a 30-29 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 — away from being 3-0 straight up as the visiting team this year. With the addition of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles has the weapons to be a very improved defense over the final half of the season. However, the Rams still need more out of quarterback Jared Goff and an offense that has averaged 26.8 points per game this season. Goff is coming off his best performance of the season, but he’s definitely taken a step back this year. He’ll be up against a defense that leads the league in turnovers forced and is fifth in sacks. While running back Todd Gurley has six touchdowns in his last four games alone, he also looks like he’s lost a step. The Rams will still lean heavily on that tandem this week in Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have to feel good about getting back to .500 without their star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Mason Rudolph completed a career-high 26 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown last week. However, the Steelers hosted an Indianapolis Colts team that lost their starting quarterback early in the game and still would have won if Adam Vinatieri made a field goal at the end of the game.
While the offense has been better of late, they’re going to have to live without James Conner this week. That means the defense, which has carried them, will have to do so again. Pittsburgh has held its opponents to just 21.1 points per game this season with linebackers Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt, and rookie Devin Bush leading the way. Minkah Fitzpatrick has three interceptions in his last two games, including a vital pick-six last week. His impact on the Steelers’ defense can’t be overstated following an impressive first couple of weeks with the team.
Trends
- LA is 5-0 ATS in last 5 road games
- Rams are 10-0 SU vs. AFC opponents since 2017
- LA is 6-0 SU and ATS in games in Eastern Time Zone since 2017
- Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in last 5 games overall
- Steelers have lost 3 straight to NFC opponents
Bottom Line
Pittsburgh has held its last three opponents to an average of just 18.3 points per game. Now they get an opportunity to make a statement at home against a Rams’ offense that has been inconsistency at best so far this season. The Steelers are among the league leaders with a plus-11 turnover differential this season, but it still feels like much of their three-game winning streak has come on the back of opponents’ mistakes. They trailed Miami 14-0 early and came back after the Dolphins melted down, and the Colts obviously missed a makeable kick to win last week.
With two weeks off to prepare, I’m expecting to see the best version of the Rams we’ve seen yet. As long as they don’t cough up the ball numerous times, they should pick up this win.
Prediction: Los Angeles 20, Pittsburgh 17
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Check out our other NFL Sports Betting Guides for Week 10
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Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (+10.5)
Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-11.5)
Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (-5)
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (-2.5)
Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (-6.5)
Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.