We haven’t seen the 2018 Los Angeles Rams yet this preseason, but that’s about to change on Saturday. Not wanting to risk injury or give away any secrets, Sean McVay sat his presumed starters during the first two exhibition games. Opening the regular year with Raiders, McVay went with his reserves to beat Oakland last week. We can expect to see a little bit of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Ndamukong Suh against the Houston Texans in Week 3 of the preseason, but don’t blink because you might miss them.
This contest in Week 3 of the preseason will go down Saturday, August 25, 2018, at 4 p.m. ET at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
NFL Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Houston Texans +3
Los Angeles Rams -3
Over/Under 42
Odds Analysis
It’s evident after the first two weeks that McVay isn’t concerned about preseason results. The Rams won and covered against Oakland’s backups last week, but they were thrashed in the opener. Taking into account home field advantage, the Rams opened as a 3-point favorite with the total at 42.
Quarterback Rotation
It’s been a natural progression for Deshaun Watson this preseason as he makes his way back from a serious knee injury, and he will get his most snaps on Saturday. Watson threw one pass in his only series in the opener. Last week, he was on the field a little longer but again played one series, completing 5 of 8 for 73 yards, including an 8-yard scoring pass to culminate the drive. There’s a fine line between getting players work and not risking injury, but Watson needs to get on the field since he’s essentially completing his rookie season.
The backup job has been a scramble between Brandon Weeden and Joe Webb. Webb led the game-winning touchdown drive last week ending the day 10 of 19 for 127 yards. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 22 yards. Weeden failed to move the offense last week going 7 of 15 for 50 yards in his time.
Following his breakout 2017, Goff has yet to take the field for the Rams, and McVay hinted that his starters might not play at all this preseason. That’s just coach talk however, and we should see the first-team offense that led the NFL in scoring last season for a few series.
The Rams are getting a good look at Sean Mannion to determine if he’s capable of leading the team should something happen to Goff. The backup was dreadful against Baltimore in the preseason opener completing just 3 of 13 for 16 yards with a pick. Those numbers improved against the Raiders last week. After two three-and-outs to start the game, Mannion got in a groove to complete 10 of 16 for 84 yards, leading the team on three scoring drives. “Definite improvement,” McVay said of Mannion.
Players to Watch
The Rams made moves to upgrade their defense in the offseason, adding Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters in the secondary and getting Suh to work alongside Aaron Donald up front. However, one area that has been neglected is outside linebacker. The Rams seemingly got weaker at that position by trading Robert Quinn and allowing Connor Barwin to become a free agent.
So the guys manning the spot have something to prove, and one player has proved a lot so far. Samson Ebukam is the only projected defensive starter to play in the first two preseason games. “I have something to prove to the coaches,” Ebukam said. Matt Longacre is a starting candidate, but he’s returning from back surgery and hasn’t played yet. Ryan Davis, Ejuan Price and Justin Lawler are all in the mix for a job and will have their hands full with Watson on Saturday.
Free ATS Pick
It will be nice to see the Rams starters on the field for a change, but just how effective are they going to be? You can’t simulate game reps in practice no matter how hard you try and the Rams have been limited in their first two games. They will go through the motions on Saturday to get acclimated to a game situation, but they won’t be out there for long.
We will see more of Houston’s starters and that means J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney on defense. Those two will likely exit sooner than the starters on offense, but with Watson going against the Rams second team, he should produce points, especially after watching what the Ravens did in Week 1.
NFL Betting Odds: Texans 23, Rams 20
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