The Baltimore Ravens have been through the emotional wringer this season and are, again, trying to get back on track. (Getty)
No one is coming into this game feeling particularly confident.
The Baltimore Ravens dropped a 22-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in yet another heartbreaking finish last week, while the St. Louis Rams offense effectively stalled against the Chicago Bears.
The Ravens come into the Sunday afternoon tilt as 2.5-point favorites according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. It’s not exactly a major buffer, but it’s enough to give Baltimore a bit of a home field advantage. Also, Joe Flacco is still on the team’s roster.
Flacco is seventh in the league with 2,492 passing yards and has started to spread the ball out to his receiving corps, including 14 targets to Kamar Aiken last week alone. Still, the veteran QB needs to cut down on turnovers. He’s fifth in the NFL with 10 interceptions and while not all of those are his fault, there’s certainly ways for Flacco to cut down on the turnovers.
But while Flacco may be a good play in fantasy football, he and the Ravens are not a particularly safe bet. Baltimore is 1-7-1 ATS in its last nine games and 1-4 SU in its last five games, according to OddsShark. That’s not all. The Ravnes are also 0-5 ATS in their last five games at home.
Keep in mind, there are issues with the Rams as well.
St. Louis’ defense has been strong this season, but the passing game has been lackluster at best. That’s why Nick Foles won’t play on Sunday. Case Keenum is slated to get the start on Sunday. With the Houston Texans last year, Keenum completed 20 of 42 passes for 185 yards in a victory over, of course, the Ravens.
The Rams are also, historically, a bit up and down as road underdogs. In the last 10 games, St. Louis is 3-7 overall, 4-6 ATS and 4-6 over/under in these games, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
The total for Sunday afternoon’s St. Louis and Baltimore matchup is set at 42.5 points according to the sportsbooks. The total has gone OVER in six of Baltimore’s last eight games when playing St. Louis. On the other hand, the total has gone UNDER in five of St. Louis’ last six games on the road.
The OddsShark computer is predicting a 20.3 – 23 Baltimore victory.
St. Louis vs. Baltimore pick: St. Louis SU & ATS
