RAMS at RAVENS
Take: RAMS +2.5
It’s 4-5 vs. 2-7 here, so from an importance standpoint, there’s not much on the line as the Rams visit the Ravens. St. Louis still has a pulse in the NFC Wild Card chase, as they’re just two games out currently. As for the Ravens, they’d have to go 7-0 down the stretch to have a chance, so let’s just say it’s wait until next year time in Baltimore.
The 2015 Ravens have also been one of the unluckiest teams I’ve ever seen. Okay, I’ll buy that some of that ill fortune has been brought on by their own blunders. But it’s also true that almost every break they’ve caught has been a bad break. The worst of all was probably last week as bad officiating on what should have been the final play of a win against Jacksonville turned into another demoralizing loss.
At some point, frustration can derail any team mentally. The Ravens are saying all the right things and I don’t think there’s any way anyone named Harbaugh is ever going to throw in a towel, so forget about Baltimore just mailing it in today or any other day. But this has been a disastrous campaign, and it actually started in the pre-season, even though those games didn’t count.
I am not going to build up a great case for Case Keenum as the potential savior of the Rams season. But if there’s a right place for Keenum to get a start, it’s here. Keenum grew up in West Baltimore, he’ll have lots of family and friends to support him and beyond that, I don’t think he’s a downgrade from Nick Foles. Expect a heavy dose of Todd Gurley here, and if Keenum can simply manage the offense and avoid turnovers, the Rams should be able to put some points on the board.
The two most reliable power rating sets I utilize each have the Rams winning the game. Not by much, to be sure, as the line off those two columns is St. Louis -1. But I generally do pretty well when I can isolate an underdog that my numbers indicate should win the game, regardless of the margin. Add in what I would say is a reasonably favorable situation, and there’s enough here for me to make a play on the Rams.
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