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Rams at Saints: Game preview, odds, prediction

By John Buhler

Nov 13, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) before a game against the Denver Broncos at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) before a game against the Denver Broncos at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New Orleans Saints will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon. Here is a game preview, the betting odds, and a final score prediction.

Week 12 offers a bountiful harvest of 16 NFL games. One of the early afternoon games on Sunday going on in the NFC will be between the Los Angeles Rams (4-6) and the New Orleans Saints (4-6). Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 27th will be at 1:00 p.m. ET. FOX will have the telecast.

Los Angeles has to win to stay alive in any NFC Playoff race. The Rams are 4-6, 3.5 games back of the 7-2-1 Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, and 2.5 games back of the 6-3-1 Washington Redskins for the second NFC Wild Card spot. Sunday will be the first road start of rookie quarterback Jared Goff’s NFL career.

New Orleans needs to win to stay alive in the crucial NFC South race. While the Saints also trail the Redskins by 2.5 games in the NFC Wild Card race, New Orleans is only two games back of the first-place Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. These arch rivals will meet again in Week 17 in Atlanta.

Odds

Point Spread: New Orleans -7
Moneylines: New Orleans -330, Los Angeles +270
Over/Under: 45.5

According to OddsShark.com, the Saints will be laying seven points at home to the visiting Rams. The associated moneylines are New Orleans -330 and Los Angeles +270. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 45.5 points.

Here are the trends to know with regards to the Rams: 1.) Los Angeles is 1-4-1 against the spread and 1-5 straight up in its last six games. 2.) The Rams have gone under in four of their last five games. 3.) They have gone under in nine of their last 11 road games. 4.) Los Angeles is 8-16 straight up in its last 24 road games.

Here are the trends to know about the Saints: 1.) New Orleans is 5-1-1 against the spread in its last seven games. 2.) The Saints have gone under in four of their last five games. 3.) They are 6-11-1 against the spread in their last 18 home games. 4.) New Orleans is 3-6 straight up in its last nine home games. 5.) The Saints have gone over in eight of their last 10 games at home.

New Orleans has had to play some very tough games for the last month: at Kansas City, home for Seattle, home for Denver, and on the road in Carolina with a cupcake game against the San Francisco 49ers sandwiched in between.

The Rams have one win in their last six games. Los Angeles has an ancient offensive game plan and has to win games in the teens to have any shot at victory. New Orleans loves to have the occasional shootout in the Big Easy. Things do not look promising for the Rams in this one.

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Goff is not going to be able to have a reliable running game amidst the Superdome crowd noise. The rookie out of Cal has never played in a dome before. Saints quarterback Drew Brees will show Goff who is boss by leading the Saints to victory and covering the spread in the process easily.

Pick: Saints 30, Rams 18

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