Vikings vs Rams NFL Week 4 Odds for Thursday Night

Thursday Night Football brings us a prime-time matchup between two teams who could well meet again in the NFC Championship in early 2019, as the Minnesota Vikings head west to take on the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings should be 3-0, but they were let down twice by their place kicker in a tie with the Green Bay Packers, and then they decided to take the Buffalo Bills for granted last week and ended up taking a 27-6 whipping at home from one of the worst teams in the National Football League. The Rams have a solid 3-0 start to their season, one of four teams left with a perfect record, and they look to continue their trek to the first appearance by a Los Angeles Rams team in the Super Bowl since the days of Vince Ferragamo. The team went twice during its sojourn in St. Louis but only once while playing in Hollywood, way back in Super Bowl XIV. Check out our NFL Week 4 odds preview for this NFC thriller.

Vikings vs Rams NFL Week 4 Odds for Thursday Night

Reliance on yards after catch could be key for the #Vikings going against the talented Rams defensive line.

📰: https://t.co/lIVEiMAnBT pic.twitter.com/q4jYZH2kAh — Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 27, 2018

When: Thursday, September 27, 2018, 8:20pm ET Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum TV: FOX / NFL Network / Amazon Prime Radio: Westwood One Live Stream: NFL Live NFL Odds: L.A. Rams -6.5, O/U 49 

Why should you bet on the Vikings?

On offense, we really haven’t seen what Minnesota can do yet. Dalvin Cook missed Week 3 with a hamstring injury, and the team didn’t get much out of Latavius Murray, but they were playing behind most of the game, so they were trying to throw the ball. Cook only has 78 yards on the season and needs to contribute more to keep the heat off Kirk Cousins. Cousins threw for 296 yards and a score against Buffalo, but he also threw an interception and fumbled three times, losing two of them, and he took four sacks. He has thrown 103 passes the last two weeks, so some balance would be a good thing. He does have two stellar wideouts in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. On defense, the Vikings allowed just under 85 yards per game on the ground but have allowed 105 so far this year. They only allow 3.6 yards per rush, though, fifth overall. Daniel Hunter is the anchor of the defensive line, with 14 tackles and three sacks. The Viking secondary is terrific, as they had three picks in the opener against San Francisco, and they limited Aaron Rodgers to just 253 yards in WEek 2. Harrison Smith leads the secondary with 16 tackles and also has a pair of sacks and a pick. But can they slow down Jared Goff?

Why should you put your money on the Rams?

The Rams’ defense has been led by Cory Littleton so far, as he has 14 tackles, seven assists and an interception so far. The unit clamped down on Arizona to permit just 54 yards on the ground, but the Chargers rumbled for 141 yards last week. They added Ndamukong Suh to put some more power on their defensive line, but he only has four tackles, four assists and a sack so far. The Rams have a secondary that bends but does not break; in their opener against Oakland, they permitted 300 yards through the air but had three interceptions, including a pick-six. They limited Arizona to just 84 yards through the air (not that amazing, given the Cards’ personnel) and then held Philip Rivers to a respectable 215 yards through the air. So there could be some room for Kirk Cousins to find receivers down the field. On offense, the Rams have ridden Todd Gurley in the backfield, and he has 255 yards in three games on the ground, while also catching 11 passes for 121 yards and scoring five combined touchdowns. Jared Goff has a quarterback rating of 111.0 through three games, 11th overall, and he threw for 354 yards against the Chargers, who had a terrific pass defense last year. Adding Brandin Cooks to the wideout corps made a big difference, as he had seven catches for 90 yards against the Chargers.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

The Rams look light-years ahead of the Vikings as far as progress and consistency go this year. I see the Rams making a prime time statement at home and winning, 27-16.