The Los Angeles Rams (7-7) and New Orleans Saints (7-7) will face off in a Week 16 matchup on Thursday Night Football, meaning that they will be able to enjoy a nice Christmas break while others are at play. But this game will have some high stakes with the NFL playoff race heating up, and it's all in primetime.
Sean McVay and his Rams have been surging along here as of late, winning their last four out of five and are currently holding onto the last coveted Wild Card spot with the 7th seed. The Saints are just two spots behind them and are technically tied record-wise with their division rival the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South division title, although the Bucs hold the tiebreaker. The Rams likewise hold a tiebreaker over the Saints, thus their higher seeding.
That means that both of these .500 teams will be in a pivotal battle on Thursday night, where a loss would pretty much end their chances of making the postseason. Will the 2021 Super Bowl champions, who missed the playoffs entirely last year, be able to make their return? Let's get into some Rams bold predictions for the Week 16 Thursday Night Football game versus the Saints.
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Kyren Williams rushes for at least 100 yards and a touchdown
A lot of the love with this Rams offense will go to the likes of Stafford and his favorite targets in Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and rightfully so as they are highly productive. But you can't forget about the job that Kyren Williams has done at running back this season.
He may have started off slow at the first of the season and then suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss some time, but overall, Williams has had a great year. In five games, he's surpassed over 100 yards, with two of those going 150-plus, including his last game against the Washington Commanders. He'll face a tough Saints defense this week, but it's one that ranks 24th in rushing defense, allowing 126.4 yards per game.
Rams defense holds Saints to 20 points or less
The Rams are falling around the middle of the pack as a defense this season. But in four out of their last five games — excluding their overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 when they gave up 37 — Los Angeles has allowed an average of 17 points per game.
The Saints have been shaky all season as an offense, with Derek Carr probably having his best game of the season just last weekend.
Matthew Stafford throws two interceptions but passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns
Stafford has been on a bit of a roll lately. He's thrown for 250-plus yards in his last three games and eight touchdowns. But more importantly, he hasn't thrown an interception during that stretch either. He'll face the No. 6 ranked passing defense in the league on Thursday night, that has 21 takeaways for the season. Stafford could have his third multi-interception game of the season.
Rams win a close defensive battle over the Saints
I believe this could be quite a defensive battle, that's fairly low-scoring, which would be indicative of the over/under of 45.5. The strength of the Saints is definitely their defensive unit, with the Rams having the better overall offense between the two. And that's because of Stafford being fairly healthy.
With the way Stafford and the offense are playing lately, with a lot of momentum, they will find a way late in the game to pull off a close one, maybe by just a field goal. The Rams are favored as of now by 3.5, according to FanDuel.
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