After 17 regular-season games and a 10-7 record, the Los Angeles Rams will try to keep their season alive on tonight when they visit the Detroit Lions. Matthew Stafford is looking to beat his former team in the Lions’ first home playoff game in 30 years, while Jared Goff will attempt to take down Sean McVay and the Rams, who traded him three years ago.
It’s the first time ever that each quarterback will face his former team in the same playoff game. The Lions are understandably favored as the home team, but the Rams are more than capable of pulling off the upset. After all, they’re 3-1 in road playoff games under Sean McVay.
Here’s our final score prediction and best bet for tonight’s battle at Ford Field with a spot in the divisional round on the line.
Betting lines
Moneyline (ML): Rams +140 :: Lions -165
Against the spread (ATS): Rams +3 (-105) :: Lions -3 (-115)
Over/Under (O/U): 52 (O: -110 U: -110)
Rams vs. Lions injury report
Final score prediction and best bet
The Rams are one of the hottest teams in football. After starting 3-6, they’ve won seven of their last eight games, turning around a season that looked like at the Week 10 bye. Kyren Williams’ return from injury was a big part of that, as was the stellar play of Matthew Stafford.
Los Angeles will need to ride both players to victory tonight against the Lions. Stafford has to take care of the ball and move the chains in the inevitable third-and-medium situations where McVay is unlikely to run it. He also has to do his best to avoid pressure, which is inevitably coming from Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions’ blitzes.
Williams is going up against an outstanding run defense, which ranks third in yards per carry allowed and second in total rushing yards allowed. It’ll be tough sledding, but he doesn’t need to have a 100-yard game. He just needs to pick up enough yardage to keep the Rams from getting behind the chains and falling into third-and-long.
Puka Nacua should have at least one big play against the Lions’ outside cornerbacks, who are the weakness of this defense. Cooper Kupp will get his opportunities in a big game like this, too, but his routes will mostly be run against Brian Branch in the slot.
While Goff has plenty of playoff experience from his time with the Rams, Stafford has proved to step up in these big games, leading Los Angeles to four playoff wins in his first season with the team. The Rams’ postseason experience as a whole will serve them well in a…
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