NFL Week 5 Best Bets: Rams vs. Seahawks Thursday Night Football Picks

The NFC West is proving to be one of the best divisions in football with all teams impressing in games so far this year. The Rams suffered a humbling defeat to the Cardinals and dropped behind them in the standings, while the Seahawks kept up their challenge by beating the 49ers last week.

The game on Thursday sees the Seahawks as slight home underdogs as the best bookmakers clearly think the Rams will be able to bounce back immediately here in a high-scoring game with the totals line set at 53.5 and above.

Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks

Thursday, October 07, 2021 - 08:20 PM EDT at Lumen Field

What Happened to the Rams Last Week?

I have been high on the Rams since they signed Matthew Stafford and the win against the Bucs a couple of games ago solidified my thoughts on them, so it was a bit of a shock to see the Cardinals dominate them in their matchup on Sunday.

It was a heck of a performance from Kyler Murray who looked unstoppable at times, whether avoiding pressures or dropping dimes down the field it was a brilliant performance from the pint-sized passer and one that moves him up the list in the MVP race for the year. The Rams couldn’t stop him or worryingly the rest of the run game as Chase Edmonds put up over 100 yards on the ground.

https://youtu.be/z7V0UEbiRpA

Matthew Stafford had a rough game for them, turning the ball over on a deep shot to Desean Jackson and failing to get in on a QB sneak (although they should have reviewed it) but it’s not really the offense that’s the worry. Cooper Kupp will bounce back, Robert Woods finally turned up for the year and the run game will be fine this week as well against a softer defense than the one they just faced.

The defense will need to improve though facing another mobile QB in Russell Wilson. I would imagine Jalen Ramsey will take care of DK Metcalf and the rest of the defense will have to get better to slow Tyler Lockett.

Chase Edmonds #2 of the Arizona Cardinals. Sam Greenwood/Getty Images/AFP

Can the Seahawks Continue Their Wins?

The Seahawks have a great record against the 49ers and that continued at the weekend with a comfortable win against them. It was a weird game as once again they only allowed Russell Wilson to have 23 pass attempts in the game. It’s been a pattern this year and he’s so good that he makes it work but surely you’d want one of the best to throw the ball more?

https://twitter.com/brgridiron/status/1444805148862296064

It was Alex Collins who looked the best of their running backs, and he deservedly found the endzone late on to add to TDs from Wilson, DK Metcalf, and Freddie Swaim. Metcalf made it three scores in their opening four games with his, and games between these sides are always fun to watch as he comes up against Jalen Ramsey. In the four games he’s played vs the Rams he’s had just over 200 yards and only one TD.

How Do I See This One Going?

I think there will be a lot of points, neither defense has been particularly good so far you’re looking at two of the best QBs in the league calling their plays. The Rams are 4-0 to the Overs so far this season while the Seahawks would have a similar record if they could keep up first-half performances for the entire game, so while it is a high total I want to be on the over.

Los Angeles Rams fans. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP

The usual mantra for Thursday night games is to side with the home team especially if they’re underdogs, but the three Thursday night games we’ve had so far this season have seen the road team covering in all of them. I like the Rams to win, I think they’re the better team so it’s a choice of Rams -1 or the over, for my NFL picks, I’ll go with the over.

NFL Pick: (visit ourSportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.