Week 14 - Patriots (6-6) @ Rams (8-4)
Spread: Rams -4.5
We actually have a solid game for Thursday Night Football this week. It's a rematch of everyone's favorite game, Super Bowl 53! Things are a little different for both teams this time. Arguably two of the most important players from that 13-3 bloodbath are gone. Tom Brady is no longer with the Patriots and Todd Gurley is an Atlanta Falcon. The Patriots replaced Brady with Cam Newton at the quarterback position and Rams are using a committee of Malcom Brown, Cam Akers, and Darrell Henderson in the backfield.
The Patriots have had a really weird season. They're currently sitting at 6-6, which leaves them 2 games behind the Colts and Dolphins for a wildcard spot, imagine hearing that before the season. New England needs to win out to give themselves a realistic chance at a playoff berth. With games against LA, Buffalo, and Miami, that seems unlikely. However, New England is currently on a two game winning streak including a 45-0 demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend. I still don't think this Patriots team is actually any good, but a win this week could prove me wrong. Cam Newton hasn't had a great season thus far. His best target has been Jakobi Meyers, a former undrafted free agent out of NC State. That's not want you're hoping for there. James White hasn't been as productive as in previous years and with Julian Edelman being out, Meyers is left as the main weapon on offense. The defense has been mostly unremarkable this season, however, they did just shut out the Chargers last week. What it will come down to tonight is the play of Damien Harris on offense. If he is able to run the ball effectively to take pressure off Cam and the passing game, the offense might be able to put up enough points to win. That and hoping Jared Goff decides to play poorly.
The Rams head into week 14 with a record of 8-4, which puts them in a tie with the Seattle Seahawks for first place in the NFC West. The Rams typically win games when Jared Goff plays well. Unfortunately for them, he's had a very up-and-down season. Even though the team is 8-4, Goff is about 6-6 when it comes to showing up. They've won a few games where he's played poorly, but it's difficult to trust a team with a quarterback that sucks. The big question for this Rams team is all about Goff. Is he good enough to win you a Super Bowl? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, no, at least for now. He's already been to one and Bill Belichick completely exposed him for the mediocre quarterback he is. I'm gonna say that the NFL's resident Anton Chigurh exposes him again tonight.
The Pick: Patriots +4.5
They suck, but I'm never going to get against Bill Belichick's game plan for bad quarterbacks. Never going to happen.
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