The late betting game on Monday Night Football on ESPN has the Los Angeles Rams visiting the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams will be starting Case Keenum at quarterback while the 49ers will be going with Blaine Gabbert. The Rams are listed as 2.5-point road favorites at top online sportsbooks with the total listed at 43.5. Many people thought that the Rams would be starting top pick Jared Goff in this season opener but he is not even active for this contest.
Monday Night Football Odds
Los Angeles Rams -2.5, total 43.5
Both Teams Looking to Run the Ball
There will be very few secrets on Monday night when the Rams visit the 49ers as both teams will be looking to run the ball. The Rams have one of the top running backs in the league in Todd Gurley and a quarterback who they don’t really trust in Case Keenum and it is not much different on the San Francisco end with Carlos Hyde expected to get a lot of work as the 49ers don’t want Gabbert throwing it all over the field. The Rams have a stout defense that should be able to hold the 49ers in check and San Francisco should just stuff the run and force Keenum to beat them.
If you were expecting to see top pick Jared Goff in this game then you are going to be disappointed as he is not even active as the backup. Goff was awful in the preseason with a 55.8 passer rating with a 44.9 completion percentage, two interceptions, four sacks and three fumbles. Goff is the first quarterback taken No. 1 overall to not start the season since JaMarcus Russell.
Game Notes
The 49ers lead the all-time series 66-64-3. San Francisco also leads the all-time series at home going 33-32-2. The last meeting between the teams was in January when the 49ers won 19-16 in overtime at San Francisco.
The Rams are 15-37-2 ATS in their last 54 games in September. The Rams are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 road games. The Rams are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games in Week 1. The Rams are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Monday games. The 49ers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games in Week 1. The 49ers are 24-6 ATS in their last 30 Monday games. The 49ers are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 vs. the NFC West.
The Under is 4-0 in the Rams last 4 vs. the NFC West. The Under is 38-17-1 in the Rams last 56 road games. The Under is 8-2 in the 49ers last 10 vs. the NFC West. The Under is 18-5 in the 49ers last 23 home games. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in San Francisco.
Monday Night Football Picks
Neither head coach is going to want to take many chances in this contest plus the trends heavily favor a low scoring contest so I will take this game under the total at the online sportsbook.
