The start of the new season is here as the Los Angeles Rams welcome the Houston Texans to SoFi Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Rams and Texans look to continue their winning ways, headed by two of the best young coaches in the NFL – Sean McVay and former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
The Rams (-3) open as slight favorites in this game, giving three points to the Texans (+3) according to FanDuel Sportsbook. LA is also a -156 bet straight up, while the Texans are a +132. The over/under is at 43.5, and considering that both teams have high level quarterbacks, the game could be a high scoring affair.
Matthew Stafford comes into the game expected to start despite missing all of training camp with back issues. The Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson, who missed all of camp as well with blood clots, is also expected to be back and playing on Sunday. Given the return of Stafford and Jackson, the roster looks incredibly healthy, especially considering the injuries and slow starts of both 2023 and 2024.
“It’s always something that you have to manage,” McVay said, when asked if Jackson is past his blood clot issue. “He’s in great shape, we’ve got a great plan in place. One of the doctors that’s been instrumental in helping kind of facilitate this process was here, what seems like an eternity ago, last Thursday, and seemed to be really positive and optimistic about the plan we have in place and all the checkpoints that we wanted to be able to hit. But I certainly don’t think you minimize… but you manage this, we have a plan in place, but he’s in a great position, and it’s a huge credit to him and to the medical team behind the scenes.”
On the flip side, the Texans are dealing with some major injuries already. The team lost starting receiver Tank Dell last season to a horrific leg injury, and he may not be ready to go this season entirely. On top of that, starting running back Joe Mixon will miss at least the first four games on IR, and his availability for the rest of the season is still in question as well, with Texans GM Nick Caserio refusing to confirm if he will play this year.
Overall, while the Texans have a very real chance at winning the AFC South, Los Angeles looks to have the upper hand Sunday and the odds makers seemingly agree. I have the Rams winning by more than three points, covering the spread. I also think with two explosive offenses that it will be smart to take the over in this one.
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