NFL
Sports Interaction Staff
September 5, 2017

Colts vs. Rams Point Spread: Week 1 Picks and Prediction

The Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams will square off for a Week 1 showdown at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a 4:00 pm Eastern kick-off. Let’s take a closer look at the game as well as Sports Interaction’s NFL regular season odds.

Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Rams

Point spread: Los Angeles -3.0
Over/under: 42.0
Date: Sunday, September 10, 2017 @ 16:00
Location: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles.

The Colts are out of “Luck” for Week 1

Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck has been already ruled out for the Colts’ Week 1 matchup against the Rams. Luck underwent right shoulder surgery in January after originally getting banged up in Week 3 of the 2015 season. Scott Tolzien will start against the Rams. Jacoby Brissett will be his backup after being acquired from the Patriots for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett over the weekend. In 3 games for the Colts last season, Tolzien was 23-37 for 216 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT’s.

Colts vs. Rams Odds and Betting Analysis

The Colts and Rams were both mediocre in their final 10 games of 2016. Indianapolis ended last season with a 5-5 record, while Los Angeles finished 2016 with a terrible 1-8-1 mark. The Rams were 1-5-1 ATS as a home team last season and 0-2 as a favourite. The Colts meanwhile, were 4-2-1 ATS as an away underdog last year. These teams have met 4 times since 2001, with the teams splitting the series 2-2. The most recent meeting was on November 10th, 2013 in Week 10 with the Rams hammering the Colts 38-8. The home team Rams are set as 3.0-point favourites with the total currently sitting at 42.0.

Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis finished 30th in total defence in 2016 and things don’t look much better heading into 2017. Safety Malik Hooker, Indy’s first-round draft pick is expected to see limited work against the Rams. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, the Colts’ biggest free agent acquisition, will probably start after being limited to one preseason appearance because of injuries. The seemingly endless injury list hasn’t yet allowed the Colts to play at full strength on offence or defence, and that’s forcing the coaching staff to improvise which could be bad news come Sunday.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have missed the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons, and they haven’t finished with a winning record in 13 straight seasons. Los Angeles is sharing the Coliseum with USC for the second of four consecutive years, but they’ve only got seven home games for the second straight season, thanks to yet another ‘home’ game in England. The Rams’ defence was solid last season, and new coordinator Wade Phillips appears to have another competent unit. Phillips won’t have his best player though, All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald who continues to be in a contract dispute with the Rams. League sources say a deal is “not close”.