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Ravens vs Rams Week 12 Picks, Odds & Betting Preview – After Starting 1-5 ATS, Ravens Look to Cover 5th Straight

Eric Rosales

by Eric Rosales in NFL Football

Updated Nov 25, 2019 · 2:33 PM PST

Lamar Jackson high-stepping
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are riding a six-game winning streak heading into their Monday Night meeting with the Rams. Photo from @NFL_Stats (Twitter).
  • Ravens and top scoring offense visit Rams on Monday Night Football
  • Los Angeles needs a win to stay in the playoff picture in the NFC West
  • Get the odds, our pick, and all the info you need to bet the game below

If prior to the season, you predicted Week 12’s Monday Night Football matchup (Nov. 25, 8:15pm ET), between the Baltimore Ravens (8-2, 4-1 away) and Los Angeles Rams (6-4, 3-2 home) was between a Super Bowl contender and a team fighting to get into the playoffs, you’d be exactly right.

You probably just had the teams switched up.

The Ravens are surging, winners of six straight wins and dismantling what’s supposed to be the difficult part of their schedule. Meanwhile, the Rams are far removed from the club that roared to a 13-3 mark last year en route to an NFC Championship. They need wins just to keep pace with San Francisco and Seattle in the NFC West.

Baltimore Ravens vs Los Angeles Rams Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Over/Under odds at BookMaker
Baltimore Ravens -195 -3.5 (-114) Over 46.5 (-113)
Los Angeles Rams +166 +3.5 (-106) Under 46.5 (-107)

*Odds taken November 17

After starting 1-5 ATS in their first six outings, Baltimore has gone 4-0 ATS since, looking for their fifth straight cover. Hanging tough at 6-4, Los Angeles has been crushed by the top defenses on their schedule, their signature win coming against a Saints team that lost Drew Brees early on. Is there anything that can guide you away from betting the Ravens? Let’s explore.

Lamar Jackson Orchestrating Destructive Offense

Baltimore leads the NFL in scoring, pouring in a crippling 34.1 points a contest — no other team in the NFL is eclipsing 30 points.

They’re grinding teams to a pulp. As a team, the Ravens lead the NFL in rushing with over 2,000 yards on the ground through 10 games, averaging better than 203 yards a contest. No one in the NFL is even at the 150-yard mark.

They’ve really taken off their last four games, scoring no less than 30 points a contest, and winning by 14 points or better in each. The only creampuff on that list is Cincinnati. The rest? Seattle, New England and Houston.

Lamar Jackson leads the team in rushing with 781 yards, but he’s far from the only threat. Veteran Mark Ingram has rushed for 647 yards and six touchdowns, on a healthy 4.9 yards per carry average. Gus Edwards has also chipped in with 390, running at a 5.5 yards-per-tote clip.

While Jackson’s running alone would rank him 11th among all running backs, he’s also completing 66.3% of his passes, and averaging 8.1 yards per attempt with 19 TD passes to just five interceptions, and he’s already had two games with a perfect QB rating this season.

Rams Trying to Regain Form

The Rams have beaten up on the bad teams, but they been handled by teams with strong defense. In games against the Bears, Steelers, 49ers and Seahawks, they were only able to break 20 points in Seattle, a game they still managed to lose.

Their offense, once the most potent and fun in football suddenly seems uninventive and predictable. Part of that is their offensive line is not giving QB Jared Goff enough time to throw, and the other is that Todd Gurley is just not the same force he was a season ago. A knee ailment has limited him through the regular season, and he ranks 22nd in rushing with 525 yards on a 4.1 average and seven TDs. He did, however, pile up 133 scrimmage yards against the Bears last time out. Maybe the Rams will let their sportscar out for a spin from here on out?

With Brandin Cooks missing time with injury, teams have been able to shut down Cooper Kupp, who went from one of the top receivers in football to a milk carton cover, going without a reception against the Steelers in Week 10, and catching just three balls in a loss to the Bears last week. With Cooks back, hopefully the Rams can move the ball.

What’s the Best Bet?

The Rams run defense is ranked fourth in the NFL, surrendering under 90 yards a contest, but I expect the Ravens to run through that wall, perhaps even by the first quarter. So much talk about the Ravens’ offense, but their defense is business too. They’re giving up less than 20 points a game, and have scored five touchdowns on the year, while limiting their opponents to nine TDs over the last six games.

While LA is 7-3 ATS this season, the 3.5-point spread is giving a little too much credit to a Rams team that won’t be able to hold its own against the heaviest hitter in the NFL right now.

The pick: Ravens -3.5 (-114)

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