NFL Betting – QB Battles Highlight Chiefs vs Rams

Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams (pk, 39 o/u)

The Rams’ (1-0, 1-0 home) return to Los Angeles was a modest success thanks to a 28-24 win over Dallas in Week 1 of the preseason. The team will look to send another group of LA fans home happy today when they host the Kansas City Chiefs (0-1, 0-0 away) at Memorial Coliseum (9:00 PM Eastern).

Last week’s game started ominously for the Rams, who watched Lucky Whitehead return the opening kick to the house. But they largely controlled the game from there, posting 25 first downs while holding the Cowboys to just 13.

Case Keenum, who remains no. 1 on the Rams QB depth chart, had a decent game, going 6-7 for 58 yards and no picks. But he failed to record a touchdown and now rumors are that rookie Jared Goff could see some first-team reps today.

Goff didn’t earn those reps with his play; he was just 4-9 for 38 yards and an interception in his first taste of NFL action. (He was also hit hard in the second quarter and forced to leave the game with a sore shoulder.) But he certainly has a much higher upside than Keenum, and sub-par QB play has been holding the Rams back for years.

A lack of receiving weapons has also haunted the team in recent seasons. One unheralded player looking to change that is Nelson Spruce. The undrafted rookie led the Rams with six catches for 51 yards and a major in Week 1. But that just goes to show how thin this team continues to be at receiver.

LA fans may get their first taste of this team’s best offensive weapon this week as RB Todd Gurley is set to make his 2016 debut. They won’t get to see one of LA’s best defensive players, though, as DE Robert Quinn will sit out. (He recently returned from the Rio, where he was cheering on his sister, an Olympic hurdler.)

A depleted D-line is not something any team wants when the Chiefs are coming to town. Kansas City and its run-first offense put up 329 yards in a 17-16 loss to the Seahawks last week, including 135 yards on the ground. There is no shortage of talented ball carriers on the KC roster, with Jamaal Charles, Charcandrick West, and Spencer Ware all figure to get touches in the backfield this season.

Charles, who’s recovering from an ACL tear that prematurely ended his 2015 season, won’t suit up today. Darrin Reaves should continue to get a look in the backfield after racking up 42 yards on 11 carries against Seattle.

The QB position could see even more in-game turnover than the RB position for Kansas City today. Andy Reid used five different QBs in Week 1. Alex Smith (3-4 for 36 yards) is locked in as the starter, but the battle to be his understudy should be a good one. Veteran Nick Foles went 4-8 for 37 yards before giving way to the youngsters: Tyler Bray (3-9 for 48 yards), Aaron Murray (3-5 for 52 yards), and Kevin Hogan (2-6 for 21 yards).

None of the KC pivots through a TD. Hogan was the only one to throw a pick.

There will only be room for three of the QBs on the roster, at most. Murray and Hogan figure to be the odd men out at this point. Both will hope for big showings to avoid that fate.

Whether Reid gives all five guys snaps again remains to be seen, but whoever takes the first-team reps should at least have the luxury of throwing to the team’s top target, Jeremy Maclin. He missed Wednesday’s practice with a groin injury, but returned on Friday and will play today.

Bettors should approach this game, as all preseason games, with caution. But the Rams seemed to get a boost from the unusually fired-up crowd in Week 1. I’d roll with the home side, since you’re getting them at a pick’em spread.

Pick: Rams (pk). 

Photo credit: Erik Daniel Drost (Flickr) CC BY 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.