It’s been quite a turnaround for the Los Angeles Rams under second-year head coach Sean McVay. A laughingstock for the last several years in St. Louis, the Rams relocated back to Southern California only to endure another lost season under Jeff Fisher. Cutting ties with the former coach near the end of the 2016 season, the Rams made a bold move hiring McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history at the time.
The Rams broke a 12-year playoff drought last season only to lose to Atlanta in the Wild Card round. At the time McVay said his team would learn from the experience only if it continued to win football games. The Rams did just that in 2018, posting the second-most wins in franchise history behind an offense that ranked second in scoring, advancing to the team’s first Super Bowl since being upset by the Patriots following the 2001 season.
NFL Betting at BookMaker.eu
2018 Los Angeles Rams
SU Record: 13-3 regular season / 2-0 playoffs
ATS Record: 7-8-1 regular season / 2-0 playoffs
O/U Record: 8-8 regular season / 1-1 playoffs
The 2017 season was a memorable one for the Rams, who posted their first NFC West title and winning season since 2003. With young talent sprinkled throughout the roster and the NFL Coach of the Year roaming the sideline, the Rams were projected to be a contender to win Super Bowl LIII before the 2018 season opened. And they’ve lived up to the lofty expectations.
The Rams surrendered a lot to move up the draft board and take Jared Goff with the first overall pick in 2016. Another year under Fisher and Goff would have been labeled a draft bust. But in came McVay and the Rams have been one of the most dynamic offensive clubs the last two years. They went from being the lowest scoring team in 2016 to the highest scoring club the following year under McVay. And to prove that was no fluke, they ranked second in scoring this season.
Goff had a marvelous season throwing for 4,688 yards and 32 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes. He did throw 12 interceptions, five more than the previous season, but he also attempted 84 more passes. Todd Gurley balanced the attack by rushing for 1,251 yards and a league-best 17 touchdowns, despite missing the final two regular season games.
The window to win the team’s second Super Bowl title was wide open and the Rams went for it by bringing in defensive players last summer. Ndamukong Suh, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib were acquired to bolster that side of the football. Things didn’t work out according to plan early in the year as the group struggled with Talib and Peters missing time due to injury.
But Goff and the offense were able to mask deficiencies by scoring a bushel of points, and the QB even got into the MVP conversation as the Rams opened the season with eight straight wins and 11 victories in their first 12 games. They remained at the top of the NFC standings with the Saints the entire season, only to lose the No. 1 seed with a pair of defeats near the end of the season.
Goff had his worst game of the season in a loss to the Bears, throwing four interceptions while completing just 45.5 percent of his passes for 180 yards. A loss to the Eagles the following week gave McVay his first losing streak since taking over the club and positioned a big question mark over the team and particularly Goff.
Getting back on track with a pair of blowout wins over the Cardinals and 49ers, the Rams covered the double-digit spread in both games. Six times during the season they played as a favorite of 10 or more points posting a 4-2 ATS record in those outings.
Defensively the Rams were below average statistically in a number of categories during the regular season. They had the 23rd ranked run defense and placed 20th in points per game allowed. But they also boast the most disruptive player on that side of the ball in Aaron Donald. The likely defensive player of the year again, Donald collected 20.5 sacks during the regular season.
Donald was a point of emphasis for the Cowboys and Saints, who targeted resources to make sure he didn’t inflict any damage. It worked to keep Donald off the stat sheet, but constant double-teams opened the field for other Rams to make plays. The group has been stingy during the postseason and will have to continue that style of play in order to beat the Patriots.
NFL Super Bowl 53 Betting Props
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
