Week 9 Sunday Night Football: Titans at Rams
Recap of the last week for both teams:
Rams smashed up the Texans last week and then decided it was a good idea to make their defensive line a little better: they traded from Super Bowl 50 MVP, Von Miller.
The Titans lost their big dog, Derrick Henry is out for most of the season after hurting his foot during the win over the Colts last week.
So, you’d think that the Rams are just playing fantasy football, well, yeah kind off, but they also need defensive line help. They are one of the worst teams at getting pressure on opposition QBs, 24th in the league with 22%, they traded for Miller because they really need that help. They couldn’t get a glove on Kyler Murray when they lost to the Cardinals, and while they can beat up on the Texans or the Lions all day long, you need to know you can beat good teams, and if they can’t get closer to the opposition QB, then they might get dumped out of the playoffs like they did last year.
Losing the lead rusher is bad for the Titans, but they have other players who can make up for that loss, however, they are playing against the Rams, who love to show off their new QB, Matthew Stafford. And Stafford is a proven QB who has already shown how better he’s made this team, just look at the records that Cooper Kupp is breaking. The Titans are giving up 63% completion percentage in opposition QBs, taking in variance, you can bet that Stafford will likely hit higher into the 68-70% mark.
Prediction (25-14 through week 8)
Two teams from different conferences, so they only see each other once ever 4 years, and that means both teams have the chance to show some plays that can surprise their opponent. The Rams have the edge with offensive coaching, as Sean McVey is the play caller for the Rams, but the Titans are breaking in their new offensive play caller. I’d expect the Rams to be able to expose some of the coverage problems that the Titans are having - on the flip side, the Rams might find that the Titans are going to attack their defensive line with some play action pass, they will run the ball, but they’ll find where Jalen Ramsey is on the field, and throw it away from him.
It could be the game where the Titans show us just how good Julio Jones and AJ Brown can be on the same team. Is it enough to overcome the powerful Rams, maybe not.
Final Score: Titans 24 - 35 Rams
Tips
The Titans are getting a 7.5 head start with some platforms, that would be a good bet to take. Robert Woods at 11/10 for anytime TD scorer is also a good price in a game that is likely to have a few passing TDs.