LA Rams vs Detroit Lions Prediction, Spread & Odds for Wild Card Sunday Night Football
- The fourth game of the weekend sees Detroit hosting LA in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs on SNF
- The Lions are playing their first home playoff game since 1993
- Get the Rams vs Lions odds, picks and predictions for SNF here
Sunday Night Football promises fireworks as two of the league’s top offenses meet with the Detroit Lions (12-5) hosting the Los Angeles Rams (10-7) at 8:15 pm EST. This game serves up an intriguing storyline between two quarterbacks who were traded for each other back in 2021 when Matthew Stafford was still a Lion and Jared Goff a Ram. Who comes out on top on Sunday? Oddsmakers have made Detroit the 3-point favorite in the Rams vs Lions odds.
Read on for the full Los Angeles vs Detroit odds and our top Rams vs Lions prediction here.
Rams vs Lions Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | +3 (-115) | +135 | Over 53.5 (-110) |
| Detroit | -3 (-105) | -155 | Under 53.5 (-110) |
The Rams vs Lions odds make Detroit 3-point favorites on the spread and -155 on the moneyline, down from -165 yesterday. The game total has been on the move as well. After opening at 51.5 – already the highest of Wild Card Weekend – it has been bet up two full points to 53.5 less than two hours before kickoff.
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How to Watch Los Angeles vs Detroit
Viewers in the United States can watch this LA vs Detroit game on Sunday Night Football on NBC, while viewers in Canada can watch on DAZN or TSN.
Rams vs Lions Head-to-Head History
The Rams and Lions have not met since 2021 with Los Angeles winning 28-19 in LA. Los Angeles has won three of the past four games but that dates back to 2015.
Rams vs Lions Public Betting Trends
In NFL public betting splits, the public has clearly lined up on the side of the underdog Rams with 66% of the ATS money coming in on Rams +3. The moneyline betting splits are flipped, however, with Detroit getting 55% of handle.
The game-total handle is now squarely on the over, with 64% of over/under handle on the over as of 7:00 pm ET.
Rams Betting Preview
With nothing on the line last week Sean McVay rested his starters and Carson Wentz got the start at QB for the Rams. The 49ers, also with little to play for rested their starters and LA went on to win 21-20. Little changed in the standings, but WR Puka Nacua had four catches for 41 yards and a score and broke the rookie records for catches and receiving yards. The Rams also extended their current winning streak four games.
Those wins have all been close, by 1, 1, 8 and 8 points, but they’re also 3-1 ATS in those games.
Matthew Stafford had 24 touchdown passes and ranked 8th in passing yards per game (264.3). Cooper Kupp only played in 12 games but still had 737 yards, Nacua had 105 catches for 1,486 yards which ranked fourth overall in yardage. Rushing-wise, Kyren Williams was third overall with 1,114 yards.
PUKA NACUA SETS THE ROOKIE RECEIVING RECORD 🔥
(via @RamsNFL)pic.twitter.com/FPohfgfe5f
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 7, 2024
Lions Betting Preview
In a nearly meaningless game for the Lions last week, Detroit took the opposite approach and played all of their starters and won 30-20 at home to the Vikings. That gives Detroit wins in three of their past four where they’re also 4-0 ATS.
Goff was fourth in touchdown passes (30) and second in passing yards (4,575). Sam LaPorta broke the rookie record for catches by a tight end with 86 while being tied for fourth overall in touchdown catches with 10 among all receivers. One of those players he tied with was teammate Amon-Ra St Brown. St Brown was also tied in second for catches (119) and third in yards (1,515).
On the ground, both David Montgomery (1,015 yards) and Jahmyr Gibbs (945) were among the rushing leaders at 9th and 17th respectively. Montgomery was tied in fifth in rushing touchdowns with 13.
Lions vs Rams Injury Report
The Lions’ win came at a cost with Sam LaPorta and punt returner Kalif Raymond both leaving with knee injuries. Both are questionable to play on Sunday on the Lions injury report.
Now heading into #SuperWildCard Weekend, the greatest QB in Lions history returns to Detroit as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
Goff and his Detroit Lions are looking for the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991 and it may come against his former team. Scriptwriters went… pic.twitter.com/QauIhiKeP0
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2024
Rams vs Lions Head-to-Head Stats
| 10-7 / 10-6-1 | Record / ATS | 12-5 / 12-5 |
| 8th (23.8) | PPG Scored | 5th (27.1) |
| 7th | YPG Offense | 3rd |
| 10th | Passing YPG | 2nd |
| 11th | Rushing YPG | 5th |
| 19th (22.2) | PPG Allowed | 23rd (23.2) |
| 20th | YPG Allowed | 19th |
| 20th | Passing YPG Allowed | 27th |
| 12th | Rushing YPG Allowed | 2nd |
*Stats heading into Wild Card Weekend
Rams vs Lions Prediction
LA has gone 3-0 and 6-1 to the Over in recent games and are 9-8 to the Over this season.
Detroit owns a share of the highest Over record this season at 11-6 and are 3-1 and 7-2 to the Over in recent games. With two superior offensive teams ranked inside the top eight, and two defenses ranked 19th and 23rd in PPG allowed, it’s no wonder this total comes in at a Wild Card-high of 51.5.
The Lions have seen plenty of totals exceed that number down the stretch with 5/9 recent games going over that total and another two finishing with 51 and 50 points.
The Rams have seen 3/7 recent games exceed that total but have also seen games of 51, 52 and 51 points in that time. And while Week 18’s 21-20 game fell well under that total. neither team was playing with many of their key starters and quarterbacks.
This game looks like it should see plenty of scoring. It also looks like a good spot to take the points with the more-rested, more experienced underdog Rams.
Detroit hasn’t won a playoff game since 1992. Now that’s nothing against this group of Lions who could certainly change that, but there’s also a coaching mismatch here. Dan Campbell has never coached in a playoff game, while Sean McVay has made two trips to the Super Bowl, has one title and is 7-3 SU in the playoffs. He’s also 18-14-2 ATS as an underdog.
McVay has coached Goff during his time in LA, so potentially holds the upper hand there in devising a plan to slow him down. Campbell may be one of the best motivators but he cost his team a chance at overtime in Dallas and lost LaPorta in a meaningless game last week.
Rams vs Lions Picks: Rams (+3)
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Ryan is SBD's resident soccer pro, though his repertoire is by no means limited to a single sport. His articles have been published by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Kitchener Rangers, and outlets like SportsXpress and Shredthespread.com
