St. Louis Rams at New Orleans Saints, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 4:05 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Saints -9.5
Current Line: Saints -9
Opening Total: 45.5
Current Total: 47
Money Line: Saints -450 / Rams +375
It might be hard to believe, but the St. Louis Rams (6-6) seem to have a better chance of winning their division and making the playoffs than the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints (9-3). Losses by both the Rams and Seattle Seahawks on Sunday would still keep them tied for the NFC West lead while the Saints (-9) have tough road games at Baltimore and Atlanta following this game before finishing the season at home against Tampa Bay.
New Orleans needed to fend off Cincinnati on the road last week after building a 20-6 lead in the third quarter. The Bengals rallied back to take the lead 30-27 with 4:25 remaining, but a critical offside call on a 4th-and-2 play on their own 7-yard line gave the Saints the opportunity to win the game in the final minute. New Orleans did just that on a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Brees to wide receiver Marques Colston with 31 seconds left.
Saints rookie running back Chris Ivory enjoyed his strongest performance since Week 6, rushing for 117 yards on 15 carries and scoring two touchdowns for the second straight game. Reggie Bush added 26 rushing yards on five carries, and Pierre Thomas is expected to play against St. Louis for the first time since Week 3 due to a sprained ankle.
The Rams have not needed to worry about their backfield this season, as running back Steven Jackson and played in every game. Jackson had his fourth 100-yard game of the year in a 19-6 victory at Arizona last week and scored his fourth touchdown of the season. He has missed time in six of his seven seasons but needs only 15 yards for his sixth straight 1,000-yard season.
The stability and reliability of Jackson has been a huge advantage for rookie quarterback Sam Bradford this year. Bradford has not been forced to throw the ball and had just 187 passing yards against the Cardinals. He threw only his second interception in seven games last week but still managed to complete better than 62 percent of his passes for the fourth time in five games.
St. Louis has been remarkable against the spread this season with a 9-3 record, including a 6-1 mark in the last seven games. The Rams are 5-1 ATS on the road this year with the total going OVER in three of their past four overall. New Orleans has failed to cover its last two games after beating the spread in three straight. The Saints are also 0-3 ATS in the last three meetings with St. Louis, and the OVER has cashed in their last three games overall.
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