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Charlie Boccanegra
Broncos vs. Rams Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 3 Odds, Prediction
Denver fans could be in for a rough time when their Broncos play the defending NFC champion Rams on Saturday. The Broncos plan to rest their starters while LA should have all its key players on the field for at least the first two quarters.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Los Angeles opened as a 1-point home underdog, but the line has flipped heading into the weekend. Sports Interaction lists the Rams as 1.5-point favourites. The total is actually where the biggest movement is taking place.
The over/under has moved down 3 points from the opening at 38.5 down to 35.5. The Under is a combined 5-0 in Denver and LA’s pre-season games this month. Neither the Broncos or Rams have scored more than 15 points in an exhibition contest this year.
Oddsmakers are expecting another big year for Sean McVay and the Rams. The club trails only the New England Patriots for the shortest odds to win the Super Bowl at Sports Interaction. The Rams and Kansas City Chiefs are at +750. That means a $100 bet on the Rams would yield a $750 return should they lift the Lombardi in February 2020.
The Broncos season win total sits at a respectable 7.5, but they’re -833 to not make the postseason according the futures board.
Denver is coming off a 24-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week. The Niners outscored the Broncos 21-6 in the second half to power their way to an easy cover as 1-point road chalk.
Denver Broncos
Head coach Vic Fangio explained his rationale behind benching his starters in a week where most teams play their starters the most.
“It’s our fourth (pre-season game), not our third, and I just feel it’s the best thing to do for our team right now,” Fangio told reporters on Thursday.
Veteran QB Kevin Hogan will start and play the majority of snaps under centre for the Broncos in this game.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams took a similar conservative approach last week. McVay decided not to even bring many of his first-string players to Hawaii for his team’s game against the Cowboys. The Ram starters practiced in full on Thursday but they might not see much (or any?) playing time against Denver.
“When you look at some of the continuity now that we have on both sides of the ball coming back, and you say, ‘If something were to happen, is it really worth that risk in our mind?’ We just felt like that answer is no,” McVay told reporters.
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