Rams Open as Underdogs vs. Saints
After holding on to beat the pesky Eagles on Sunday night, the New Orleans Saints advanced to the NFC Championship Game where they will host the L.A. Rams at 3:05 p.m. ET. After opening as a 3-point home favorite, the line has already been bet up for the game.
Game Snapshot
311 Los Angeles Rams at 312 New Orleans Saints
3:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, January 20, 2019
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Saints are 3.5-point favorites to beat the Rams. The total, meanwhile, sits at 57 points. As of this writing, 54% of the public betting tickets are on the Saints to cover the point spread. New Orleans opened as a 3-point favorite but the line has already been bet up.
Just like the AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Chiefs, the NFC title game will be a rematch from a meeting during the regular season. In Week 9, the Rams traveled to the Superdome as a 2-point road favorite and despite making a mad second-half comeback, they were beaten by 10 by the host Saints. With the total listed at 57.5, the over cashed easily when the two teams combined to score 80 points.
The home team is a perfect 7-0 against the spread in the last seven meetings between these two teams. The over is also 9-4 in the last 13 meetings and has cashed in five of the last six meetings in New Orleans.
It’ll be interesting to see how the public views this matchup because while the Saints have always been a popular home play for bettors since Sean Payton and Drew Brees arrived, they struggled versus the underdog Eagles on Sunday in the Divisional round. They also failed to cover as an 8-point favorite while the Rams hung up to not only beat the Cowboys, but cover the 7-point spread in an eight-point victory.
Drew Brees was 28-of-38 passing for 301 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, which came on the first play of the game. Brees also underthrew Tayson Hill on a potential touchdown pass midway through the third quarter and his arm strength looked completely diminished. Still, it’s difficult to beat Brees and the Saints in that building.