LA Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks Betting Analysis & Free Pick | Week 9

Los Angeles Rams (3-4 SU, 2-5 ATS) vs. Seattle Seahawks (4-4 SU, 2-5-1 ATS)
NFL Football Week 9
Date/Time: Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 4:25PM EDT
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
TV: Fox

The Los Angeles Rams come into Lumen Field on Sunday for an NFC West showdown with the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks look for better results at home again this week after falling badly to the Bills, 31-10. After a good start to the season, four losses in their last five games have them needing a positive development badly. The Rams come into town fresh off their 30-20 win over the Vikings, their second win in a row that now has them on the cusp of .500—not too shabby after a 1-4 start to the season. Who should we get behind in this NFC battle out of the northwest?

Can Seattle Get It Together?

It was disappointing to see the Seahawks fall so flat against Buffalo after looking like they righted the ship the previous week in a 20-point road win at Atlanta. But the Bills can do that on a given week, and in Seattle’s defense, they’ve been matched pretty tough this season. Last week, they were without DK Metcalf, and we saw Geno Smith struggling to connect with the rest of the bunch, with no TD throws and a pick, and Kenneth Walker was totally impotent on the ground. They should see an uptick this week with a more-manageable defense in their midst. But for all their issues, the Rams really haven’t been that bad.

Other than that early-season upset loss to the Cardinals, where the Rams gave up 41 points, they’ve been pretty respectable. Allowing 20 points to the Vikings in their last game was a nice showing. It’s not like opposing offenses can’t thrive against this bunch, and with the odds looking like they favor Metcalf returning this week, I wouldn’t rule this out as a spot where Seattle can achieve some offensive success. It’s just that they can be such an erratic group—lethal when the run and passing games are synced up and utterly flat when the stars don’t align for whatever reason.

Are the Rams Extra-Dangerous Right Now?

I think the return of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua really give them back their razor’s edge and while the losses started stockpiling a bit, it says a lot about the Rams how they fought through what was really a tough patch on the injury front. You saw Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, and everyone pitching in on a well-coached team that typically shows a lot of effort and urgency. Throw a couple of high-end receivers back into the mix, and this is a team that can really do some things. A ten-point win over the Vikings would attest to that. They know they have ground to make up and while the Seahawks are at a similar point just from an urgency perspective having dropped four of five, I’d expect this to be a time where the Rams are tough to derail.

With the Rams and especially the last few weeks, there’s a charge of positivity resonating on the sideline. You’re seeing good energy and guys on the same page. But during some of their recent woes, we see Geno Smith and these Seahawks bickering, fights on the sideline, open displays of disgust, showing up guys, etc. It’s been a bad vibe. And not that the Seahawks can’t shake that off, but it would seem the Rams at least have a slight edge in morale heading into this week.

What to Expect

It’s hard to look at this game and not think that each team’s offense outweighs the other team’s defense to a fair degree. Both teams can provide that kind of diverse, multi-pronged offensive approach that could leave either defense looking rough by the game’s end. I just sense a higher level of dependability on the Rams right now. Especially now, with Kupp and Nacua making it so defenses can’t focus on Kyren Williams, it opens things up for the Rams against a “D” that has really started to wane at times in recent weeks. With the Seahawks, you’re not always getting a great game from Smith. Receivers can disappear. Unlike Williams, Walker can basically vanish on a given week on the ground. Their personnel issues on defense resonate in a bad way.

Still, the Seahawks can turn it on at home. It’s a crapshoot what you’re getting week-to-week with this group, but they’re a gutsy bunch, and surely, their attention this week is at a peak. This is a real line-in-the-sand game for both teams, with the winner exiting this spot with abundantly more hope than the loser. And while we haven’t seen the Rams defense truly break often this season, I’m still not comfortable with the idea that the Seahawks’ offense can’t get some big things rolling this week both on the ground and through the air.

Take the Small Road Favorite

This is a tough spot for the Rams on the road against a Seattle team facing some desperation. I just sense a higher level of dependable functionality with the Rams at the midway point of the season, and with the return of Kupp and Pacua, with some rust now shaken off, could start to pay off against a Seattle defense that has been hit-and-miss and mostly miss lately. I see a close game with the Rams poking their heads up at the end with the win and cover in Seattle on Sunday. I’ll take the Rams.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on the Los Angeles Rams minus 1.5 points.