Happy New Year, sports betting family. We had a fantastic Christmas week last week, as our best bets went 8-2 for a profit of over 12 units. Let's see if we can keep things rolling here to close out Week 17.
The Falcons will host the Rams on Monday Night Football in what should be an interesting matchup. Atlanta has had an awful season, but they've been playing some good football lately. Los Angeles needs a win to improve their playoff position.
Good luck and enjoy the game! I've got a top player prop on this matchup below that'll hopefully build your bankroll. Let's get into the details.
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Online sportsbooks opened this line at Los Angeles -8.5 on the lookahead line a few days ago. A ton of sharp money has come in on Atlanta, so much so that the line is now sitting at Los Angeles -7 at the time of this writing.
As for the game total, there's been a small appetite for the Over in the market so far. The line opened at 48.5, and most shops are now offering 49.5. As always, be sure to shop around for the best price before pulling the trigger on any bet.
Los Angeles has been one of the premier teams in the NFL this season, as they're 11-4 overall and solid on both sides of the ball. However, the Rams are just 5-3 on the road this year, and they're coming off a gut-wrenching loss against the Seahawks last week.
It'll be interesting to see how the Rams handle this tough back-to-back road game spot here on Monday Night Football. While the spot is rough from a travel standpoint, the team did get a few extra days of rest since they last played on Thursday Night Football. QB Matthew Stafford is still the favorite to win NFL MVP, as he's thrown for over 4,000 yards and 40 TDs already this season.
The Rams' offense gets most of the attention, but the defense has been better than most folks expected. Los Angeles ranks 7th in points per game allowed, even though they've faced the 3rd toughest schedule in the NFL so far. Byron Young leads the team with 11 sacks, so Atlanta's O-line better figure out how to slow him down tonight.
Atlanta has once again failed to live up to the preseason hype, as they're just 6-9 this season and only 2-4 at home. The injury to Michael Penix didn't help things, but veteran QB Kirk Cousins has been playing lights out here lately. He's been doing a beautiful job of getting the ball to Kyle Pitts, who has hauled in 80 receptions for 854 yards and 5 TDs.
Pitts is fantastic, but the main key to this Falcons' offense is RB Bijan Robinson. The former Texas Longhorn has been a juggernaut all season long, as he's racked up 1250 yards on the ground and 776 yards receiving. I could see Bijan getting a ton of touches once again in this game.
Atlanta's defense is nothing to write home about. They're below average against both the run and the pass. However, they do rank 3rd in sack rate, so McVay and Co. will have to find a way to neutralize their blitzes.
LAR vs ATL: 8:15 PM ET on December 29
Alrighty folks, let's stay HOT with these NFL player props. This may sound about as sharp as a marble, but I think Puka goes off tonight against this Falcons secondary. Davante Adams is listed as doubtful (which means he probably has less than a 10% chance of playing), so Nacua could see even more targets than he normally gets.
Starting guard Kevin Dotson is also listed as OUT with an ankle injury. That means that Sean McVay may not be able to run the ball as effectively as he would like. This would also mean more targets for Nacua.
The matchup itself is also pretty darn sweet. The Falcons' defense as a whole isn't terrible, but a few of their corners really struggle in coverage. Nacua should get around 1/3rd of his snaps against AJ Terrell, who ranks just 95th out of 110 in coverage rate. Puka should cook tonight, folks. Let's play the Over!