The Los Angeles Rams will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The Los Angeles Rams opened their season victorious after easily defeating the Chicago Bears, 34-14, this past Sunday. Los Angeles never looked back after a 67-yard TD reception by Van Jefferson early in the 1st quarter and easily pulled away after taking a 27-14 lead on a 1-yard Darrell Henderson Jr. TD with 1:24 left in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles outgained Chicago by a 386-322 margin and won the turnover battle by a 2-0 margin in the victory.
Offensively, Los Angeles was led by QB Matthew Stafford who completed 20 of 26 passes for 321 yards & 3 TD’s. The top receiving targets for Stafford and the Rams were Cooper Kupp (7 rec, 108 yards, 1 TD), Van Jefferson (2 rec, 80 yards, TD), Tyler Higbee (5 rec, 68 yards), & Robert Woods (3 rec, 27 yards, 1 TD). Leading the way for the Rams backfield was Darrell Henderson Jr. who had 70 rushing yards & 1 TD on 16 carries.
Defensively, Los Angeles was solid against Andy Dalton who completed 27 of 38 passes for just 206 yards & 1 INT. Leading the way for the Rams defense was Jalen Ramsey (9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 PD) & Justin Hollins (8 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TFL).
The Indianapolis Colts fell to 0-1 on the season after being defeated by the Seattle Seahawks, 28-16, this past Sunday. Indianapolis had no answers for slowing down Russell Wilson and the Seattle passing game and could not fight back after a 15-yard TD reception by DK Metcalf gave the Seahawks a 28-10 lead with just 6:41 left in the 4th quarter. Indianapolis was outgained by Seattle by a 381-336 margin while both the Seahawks and Colts committed 1 turnover each.
Offensively, Indianapolis was led by QB Carson Wentz who completed 25 of 38 passes for 251 yards & 2 TD’s. RB Jonathan Taylor combined for 116 total yards as he rushed for 56 yards on 17 carries while also hauling in 6 receptions for 60 yards. The other top receivers for the Colts were Nyheim Hines (6 rec, 48 yards), Zach Pascal (4 rec, 43 yards, 2 TD), Michael Pittman Jr. (3 rec, 29 yards), & Mike Strachan (2 rec, 26 yards).
Defensively, Indianapolis struggled against both Russell Wilson (18 for 23, 254 yards, 4 TD) and the Seahawks rushing attack which finished the game averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Leading the way for the Colts defense was Khari Willis (7 tackles, 0.5 sacks) & DeForest Buckner (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL).
The Rams are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in Week 2. The Colts are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games in Week 2, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
The Colts are solid team, however, the Rams are just the more complete team on both sides of the football as Matthew Stafford looked outstanding in his Rams debut while the defense has starts Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey leading the way. Jonathan Taylor could have a decent game here, but we know that Carson Wentz is turnover prone when he gets under pressure, which I imagine he’ll see plenty of in this one, and as I think Stafford and the passing attack can repeat what Russell Wilson just did to the Colts, I think the play here is to take Los Angeles to cover this small road spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
