Steelers vs. Rams Point Spread: NFL Week 7 Odds, Prediction
Pittsburgh’s coming off a bye week, and before that a massive win over rival Baltimore that kept the Steelers above .500. The Rams are back at that .500 mark after a dominant home victory over Arizona last weekend.
With Pittsburgh and the Rams, they’re really two teams who could see their seasons go either way. There isn’t much expectations for both clubs when it comes to even making the post-season, but so far both have legitimate shots backed by supreme head coaches and star power.
Kickoff at SoFi Stadium starts at 4:05 p.m. EDT, with the Rams a field goal favourite on home field and the over-under at 42.5 on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Given their low pre-season expectations, the surprisingly strong start to L.A.’s season has also put them as one of the top teams ATS this season, going 4-1-1 when it comes to covering. Meanwhile the Steelers are always in the mix in games and it’s helped them cover in seven of their last nine outings overall. Pittsburgh’s also 5-1 ATS in their last six road games.
The Steelers are scoring the third-fewest points per game this season, a spot they’ve been familiar with these past few seasons. And that’s a key reason to four of the Steelers last five games overall finishing under the total, as well as four of their last five versus the NFC West. Five of the Rams’ last seven contests have finished under too.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The hope in Pittsburgh is an extra week off allowed offensive coordinator Matt Canada to figure out his unit. As mentioned, the Steelers are third-last in scoring this season and many are pointing the blame toward Canada. But truth be told Canada isn’t getting much to work with; quarterback Kenny Pickett has yet to show signs of tremendous upside while 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris is stuck at a career 3.9 yards per carry.
The big news, and news also helped by the bye week, is the looming return of Diontae Johnson. When healthy Johnson is arguably Pittsburgh’s top receiver/offensive threat and he was a full participant on Wednesday after not appearing all season due to a hamstring injury. So forget a bye week, Johnson could be the cure to Pittsburgh’s scoring troubles.
Los Angeles Rams
In case you had any doubts, Cooper Kupp is still as good as they get in the NFL. Kupp finished with seven grabs for 148 yards and a touchdown last week and is now up to 15 catches, 266 yards, and a score these past two weeks since he returned. It’s been somewhat of the expense of breakout rookie Puka Nacua though who only reeled in four catches for 26 yards last week.
All signs point to a new runner in the backfield for L.A. this week too as both Kyren Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (knee) are both rumoured to miss several weeks. Rookie sixth-round pick Zach Evans is now expected to at least start this week, but veterans Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson are expected to be in the mix too. But who are we kidding, it’s still going to be the Matthew Stafford–Cooper Kupp show out west.