By Ian S. Palmer
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The St. Louis Rams will clash with the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday, November 8 in a big week-nine matchup at the TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Rams are in second place in the NFC West with a 4-3 record and sit a game back of the Arizona Cardinals. They’ve won two in a row after downing the San Francisco Giants 27-6 last week. The Vikings currently occupy second place in the NFC North with a mark of 5-2. They were 23-20 winners over the Chicago Bears a week ago in the Windy City.
Rams vs Vikings – bet365 NFL BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle Sports currently lists the Vikings at -2.5 at -113 with the Rams +2.5 at +102 with the over at 40 points at -100 and the under at -110
Rams vs Vikings – Betting Trends
St. Louis Rams:
- Team record: 4-3 straight up, 4-3 against the spread
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 6 games
- St. Louis is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games on the road
Minnesota Vikings:
- Team record: 5-2 straight up , 6-1 against the spread
- Minnesota has won their last three games
- Minnesota is 5-0 against the spread in their last 5 games
- Minnesota is 5-1 straight up in their last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 8 games
The Rams have had a favorable schedule the past couple of weeks as they beat the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago and then slayed the Giants in week eight. Things will certainly get tougher this week when they battle it out with the Vikings. The St. Louis backfield ran for 197 yards last week as quarterback Nick Foles took a bit of a breathe. Foles completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for a touchdown and 191 yards. The Rams might stay on the ground again this week since the Vikings have a tough pass defense as they concede only 229.3 yards in the air against per game.
Expect first-year running back Todd Gurley to be a busy player once again. Gurley has rushed for a minimum of 120 yards in each of his last four appearances and has totaled 566 yards along with a trio of touchdowns in that stretch. The Rams’ defense will need to be alert since the Vikings own the sixth-best rushing average at 131 yards a game. On paper, the matchup favors the Rams since they allow only 98.1 yards against on the ground per outing.
The Vikings have been hot lately with their three straight wins and they’re a tough bunch at home since they’ve gone 7-1 both against the spread and straight up in their last eight home encounters. The Vikings have succeeded due to a strong defense and good ground attack. Running back Adrian Peterson ranks fifth in the league at 29.4 rushing attempts each contest and his 4.5 yards per carry ranks sixth best. Peterson has run for 633 yards this season on 140 carries to lead his team and has three touchdowns.
The Minnesota backfield should be a factor against St. Louis and the Vikings will need to be wary of the league-leading 26 sacks which the Rams have recorded. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will need to be protected as well as possible of he hopes to stay on his feet. The Vikings’ aerial attack isn’t the best, but Bridgewater has teamed up well with wide receiver Stefon Diggs as he leads the club with 419 yards on 25 receptions and has scored a pair of touchdowns. Overall, the Vikings’ defense is tough to crack as it’s ranked third in the league by allowing just 17.4 points against per game on average. This should be a closely-played contest with the Vikings emerging victorious.