Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams Prediction, Pick and Preview, October 24 (10/24): NFL Week 7

Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams Prediction, Pick and Preview, October 24 (10/24): NFL Week 7

  • Ajay
  • Ajay
  • Oct 24, 2021, 12:21:59 AM

Credit: photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier-Detroit Free Press

 
Odds
Time 4:05 p.m. EST
Lions money line +950
Lions spread +16.5
Rams money line -1000
Rams spread -15.5
Over / under +50.5

 

2021 season stats
  Lions Rams
Record 0-6 5-1
Road / home record 0-3 2-1
Points per game 18.2 29.8
Points allowed per game 28.7 21.2
Pass yards per game 229 298
Rush yards per game 92 104
Total yards per game 343 410
Total yards allowed per game 385 367
Turnover ratio -1 +3

 

Preview

The Lions are up against another tough test this week as they travel to LA to play the Rams at SoFi Stadium.  The Jags' win in London last weekend means that the Lions are the only winless team in the league right now.  Dan Campbell's team put up their worst overall display of the season when they hosted the and were beaten comprehensively by the Bengals last week.  This week they face a Rams team whose only loss on the season was at the hands of division rivals Arizona Cardinals. 

The Rams posted their best outing of the season beating an injury-stricken Giants team 38-11.  The win keeps them only a single game behind the unbeaten Cardinals in the NFC West and on pace to advance to the postseason.  

This game will be billed as Jared Goff's revenge game.  Goff was traded for Matt Stafford in the last offseason after leading the Rams to Super Bowl LIII in an eventual loss to the Patriots.  Stafford has made a smooth transition into the Rams' organization and is having one of his best-ever seasons.  Goff is winless one-third of the way into a season for the first time since his rookie season in LA.

The last Lions, Rams meeting took place in Week 13 of the 2018 season at Ford Field in Detroit.  Back then, each of the current QBs was in his opponent's place.  Both signal-callers attempted 33 passes.  Goff completed 17 for 207 yards one TD and one INT and Stafford completed 20 for 245 yards, one TD and one INT.  The Rams went on to win the game 30-16

Offensive matchup

The Lions still continue to have one of the worst offenses in the league averaging less than 20 points per game and ranking in the bottom five in the league.  T.J. Hockensen is the team's main receiving outlet with only 311 yards; only good enough for joint-44th overall and is without a TD since Week 2.  Goff is about middle-of-the-pack in passing yards with 1,505 with seven TDs and four INTs.  He threw for 202 yards and was without a passing TD for the second week in a row and for the third time in the last four games.  D'Andre Swift has struggled with injuries all season.  Against the Bengals, he had 98 scrimmage yards and a receiving TD.  Hockensen and Swift were limited in practice all week and are both questionable to Sunday's game.  Jamaal Williams should be fit again for the trip to LA in Week 7.

Stafford and Kupp were at it again in Week 6.  Stafford was 22 of 28 for 251 yards and four passing TDs and one INT.  Kupp had 130 yards off nine receptions for two TDs.  Kupp is the league leader in targets(68) and TDs(7), second in receiving yards(653) and joint-leader in receptions(46).  Stafford is joint-third(16) in TDs and fourth(1,838) in passing yards.  Darrell Henderson was back from injury last week and rushed for 78 yards and added 29 receiving.  LA has scored 30+ in four of their six games this season and has more than 25 in the other two making them the sixth-best offense in the league.

Defensive matchup

The Bengals were able to hang 34 points on the Lions' defense last week.  It broke a streak of tight defensive displays for Detroit in which they gave up less than 25 points in three straight games.  Overall the Lions defense is 25th in opponent yards per game (385) and 25th in opponent points per game (28.7).  Defensive end Michael Brockers was dealing with a shoulder injury in midweek but is expected to play on Sunday.  So too is Charles Harris.  Trey Flowers is still listed as questionable after being limited up to Friday.

The Rams are giving up 367 yards per game which ranks 21st in the league but are only giving up 21.2 points per game which have them in ninth.  Leonard Floyd leads the team with 4.5 sacks and Jalen Ramsey has five passes defended; the team's best as well.  The 11 points given up in Week 6 was the most dominant defensive display from the Rams' defense all season.  All defensive players are fit and ready to go this weekend. 

Prediction

The Lions haven't won for the season and their first win isn't going to come on the road to one of the best teams in the NFL.  Following their 33 point offensive game in Week 1, they've been unable to put up more than 20 points in a game since then.  On the defensive side, Jimmy Garoppolo's 314 yards is the only 300+ yard game against the Lions' defense in a game this season; that includes Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.  Their defense won't have enough won't have enough to contain the duo of Stafford and Kupp.  Goff's return to LA won't be a happy one.

PICK: Rams spread (-15.5)

Find more sports picks from the top sports bettors and NFL experts all in one place using our iOS and Google Play apps, as well as our other articles at Kingpin.pro.  We are the home for NFL picks, sports picks and sports betting.

Winnings $17,628
last 30 days winnings $0
Yesterday winnings $0
Top Sport NBA
W-L-D 376 - 345 - 16
Winnings % 51%
Winnings $14,470
last 30 days winnings $0
Yesterday winnings $0
Top Sport Tennis
W-L-D 118 - 88 - 2
Winnings % 57%