NFL Week 14 - Lions vs. Rams Betting Odds Preview

The 4-8 Detroit Lions travel to St. Louis to take on the 4-8 Rams this Sunday with both teams coming off difficult losses last week. Detroit’s 27-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers snapped a 3 game win streak and never should have happened. The Game was over when a Face Mask penalty on the Lions gave the Packers one last chance with no time left. Aaron Rodgers threw a 61 yard Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers for a touchdown ending the game. The Rams were dominated on both sides of the ball in their 27-3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. For the Rams this was their 5th loss in a row and they have been outscored 58-10 in the last 2 games.

Detroit had a 20-0 lead early in the third quarter but couldn’t hold on for the win. Matthew Stafford was very efficient as he completed 23 of 35 passes for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. His favorite target was Golden Tate who had 8 receptions for 63 yards. Calvin Johnson only caught 3 passes for 44 yards but did have a touchdown reception. Ameer Abdullah led a balanced running game with 67 yards on only 13 carries. The Offensive line had some issues as Stafford was sacked 3 times for a loss of 15 yards. One sack turned into a fumble which was recovered by Green Bay at the Lions 12 yard line which led to a touchdown for the Packers. Defensively, they played well except for that last play. They sacked Aaron Rodgers 3 times for a loss of 27 yards and intercepted him once. The defensive line did a great job slowing down the Packers run game as they limited Green Bay to 67 yards on 24 carries.

St. Louis only gained 212 yards of total offense last week against Arizona. Nick Foles finished with a quarterback rating of 8.9 as he completed only 15 of 35 passes for 146 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Kenny Britt led the receivers with 2 catches for 41 yards. Todd Gurley led the running backs with 9 carries for 41 yards. Defensively, they allowed the Cardinals to gain over 520 yards of offense and weren’t able to force any turnovers. The defensive line had some success as they sacked Carson Palmer twice and had 7 tackles for losses. They had trouble stopping the rush as Arizona was able to gain 175 yards on 36 carries.

Detroit is 4-8 against the spread this year while the Rams are 4-7-1. St. Louis is on a 5 game losing streak while the Lions would have won 4 in a row if not for that Hail Mary. The Rams are ranked last in the NFL with only 178 passing yards per game. Matthew Stafford has thrown 7 touchdowns with no interceptions over the last 2 while completing 68.5 percent of his passes. The Lions are favored by a field goal in this game and although the Rams have home field advantage, the Lions enter as the team playing better.