NO @ LA TNF PREDICTION

By: Grant Poarch

Yet another upset on Monday night put a stain on what was still a pretty good week for us last week. A week ago, I went 10-6 on the money line and 9-7 on the spread. That brings my overall record on the year to 136-88 on the money line and 116-108 on the spread. As we get closer to the end of the year, games should be getting easier to predict as certain teams will be fighting for playoff position and others are beginning to focus on the draft. This week, I’m looking to get into double digits on both the money line and spread. With that said, fade me at your own risk and tail me at your inevitable benefit. The odds listed are provided by DraftKings.

12/21 (TNF): New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Rams (-4.5, O/U 44.5), 8:15PM EST, Prime Video

This is an absolute must win for both sides. New Orleans is right on the cusp of being in first place in their division while Los Angeles holds the last NFC playoff seed going into this one. 

The key in this game is going to be the performance of Derek Carr. He was excellent last week in the win over the Giants and was subpar in New Orleans’ victory over Carolina the week prior. 

I don’t have a lot of faith in the Saints to win this one as they have been inconsistent all year long. They beat up on two poor teams and I have a hard time believing they are going to slow down Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. That being said, if they can slow down the running game like they did last week then they will have a good chance at winning. Last week, they held Saquon Barkley to just 14 yards rushing. So, there is a chance but Kyren Williams just rushed for 152 yards a week ago. Safe to say, the Saints defense will have their hands full on defense against the Rams. 

That brings me back to my prior point. I’m sure the Saints will get stops at times but can Derek Carr take advantage of those opportunities? I doubt that as he leads you to believe he’s legit one week then falls back to Earth the next. No doubt, I will be drinking heavily and cheering on the Saints but I am expecting disappointment.

Prediction: Los Angeles wins, Los Angeles covers -4