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St Louis Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written December 24, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Falcons Rams Football

The Atlanta Falcons capped off one of the biggest turnarounds in franchise history, as they clinched a playoff spot with a 24-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings last week. Now the Falcons take on the St. Louis Rams in the final week of the regular season, and a win this week could give this team the NFC South division title. The Rams blew a lead late last week, as they fell to the 49ers 16-17 at home. For those of you looking to do some NFL betting this Sunday, the oddsmakers have the Falcons 14 point favorites at home over the Rams at BetUS.com

The Rams come in at just 2-14 and it has been a real rough two years for a franchise that was Super Bowl Champions not that long ago. Last week against the 49ers the Rams had a 16-3 lead with a little over 11 minutes to play, but two 49ers touchdowns in the 4th quarter, and the Rams went home empty handed. Marc Bulger threw for 227 with a touchdown and an interception, as he completed just 19 of 36 attempts. Steven Jackson was a beast once again running for 108 yards on 32 carries, but was unable to find the endzone, and thats something this offense desperately needs him to do. Now beating the Falcons on the road this week is not going to be an easy task, as Atlanta has lost just 1 game at home all season.

The Rams defense played great for the first 3 quarters, as they allowed just a single field goal. The Rams gave Shaun Hill trouble early, as they forced him to throw 3 interceptions, but Hill had the last laugh in this one, as he threw for both of the 49ers touchdowns in this one. The Rams really did a good job shutting down the 49ers run game last week, as the only success they had on the ground came on scrambles by Hill, who actually led the 49ers with 45 yards on 4 attempts. This week they have to keep both rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner in check, and that hasn’t been an any easy thing to do lately. The Rams have nothing to lose in this one, so don’t be shocked if they come out and at least keep this one close early. Bet St. Louis Rams +14 at BetUS.com

The Falcons won just 4 games last year, and it looked like this team was going to have to go through years of rebuilding before it ever returned to the playoffs, but the addition of head coach Mike Smith and the outstanding play of rookie quarterback Matt Ryan this team was able to lock up a playoff spot with a week to spare in the regular season, and thats not even mentioning what the addition of Turner has meant to the running game. Last week against the Vikings Ryan didn’t have the best of days throwing for just 134 yards and a touchdown, but Turner had a solid day running for 70 yards and a touchdown. Now the Falcons should pick apart the Rams defense this week, and we expect a big day from a number of players on this offense.

The Falcons played solid football last week, but were also the recipient of some bad play by the Vikings, as they fumbled it 7 times and 4 of those wound up in the hands of the Falcons defense. Atlanta did a really good job making sure Adrian Peterson didn’t come out and run all over them, as AP had just 76 yards on 22 carries, but they did have a hard time stopping Visanthe Shiancoe, who had 7 catches for 136 yards and 2 scores. Now the Rams offense is pretty much ran through Steven Jackson, and if they can keep him in check, we really don’t see there being any chance the Rams win this game. Bet Atlanta Falcons -14 at BetUS.com

For the best NFL expert picks and the latest NFL odds for every game this weekend, head to Betfirms.

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