When the Detroit Lions visit the Rams in Los Angeles, two quarterbacks who swapped teams in the off-season will face their former fans. Jared Goff led the Rams to a Super Bowl before falling out of favor, and the Rams sent him (and a first-round draft choice) to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford, the talented signal-caller who had never been able to get past the wild card round of the postseason. The Rams have run out to a 5-1 start, while the Lions are still looking for their first win of 2021.
Let’s take a look at your best NFL betting decisions for this matchup.
NFL Preview: Detroit Lions at L.A. Rams (Sunday, October 24)
When: Sunday, October 24, 2021, 4:05 pm ET
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
TV: FOX
Radio: WXYT 97.1 FM Detroit / KSPN 710 AM Los Angeles
Live Stream: Hulu
NFL Odds: Los Angeles -15 / O/U 50.5 // Los Angeles -1100 / Detroit +700
Why should you bet on the Lions?
One player who comes to town from Detroit with a chip on his shoulder is Michael Brockers. He played nine seasons with Los Angeles and was also shipped to Detroit for a draft choice. While with the Rams, Brockers joined Aaron Donald in terrorizing opposing quarterbacks from the D-line. In Detroit, Brockers has just one sack in six games, but he has stonewalled running games each week with the Lions.
The Rams have gotten off to slow starts in each of the last two games, without any points in the first quarter. This could be an advantage for the Lions, especially if they can catch the Rams’ defense napping and take an early lead. The key will be how Matthew Stafford looks in the early going. It looked like he suffered a bit of a loss of confidence during the loss to Arizona, and since then, the offense has had a hard time getting up and running. The key will be bringing balance in terms of the passing and running games, and not trying to get too cute with the play-calling.
Why should you put your money on the Rams?
The Rams have won the quarterback exchange so far. Stafford is in the top five in the NFL in touchdowns and passing yards — while Goff has not led his team to a win yet. To be fair, it was the defense that blinked late against the Baltimore Ravens, but Goff has had his head coach call him out publicly, wihch suggests that the Detroit offense misses Stafford.
The Lions’ defense permits 384.5 net yards per game, good for 25th in the NFL. That sort of generosity could help the Rams get off to a good start. After all, in their first three games, the Rams got off to a quick start and used shock and awe to build an early lead. If you like the Rams, you see the defense getting after Jared Goff and forcing him into several mistakes. You also see Stafford settling in nicely to a rhythm relatively quickly and keeping the Lions’ offense off the field.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
When the season started, I thought that Matthew Stafford would struggle running the Rams’ offense, but he has done well so far, and the Rams are among the top contenders in the NFC at this point. Jared Goff looked solid in the first game or two, but the reality of being surrounded by a lineup with negligible talent seems to be setting in. With a rebuilding team, the Lions go in with nothing to lose, but the Rams need to win games like this to keep pace with the Cardinals. I predict a final score of Rams 44, Lions 20. | Bet the Game Now!
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