Who will win the duel of the disappointed?
The Green Bay Packers still need four in one strike to qualify for the playoffs, while the Los Angeles Rams would need a mid-major miracle. Here’s how both teams head into the Monday Night Game of NFL Week 15.
Because the Packers will play not only Monday, but two more times at home at beloved Lambeau Field, the chance is still there, however, at least in the slightest. Plus, it’s now against another major disappointment of this season
The Rams were able to win again against Las Vegas after six losses in a row, but are still considered the worst champions of all sides – at least in the following season. Baker Mayfield won’t be able to change that much.
He came from Carolina the previous week, took over after a drive by Wolfort and will lead the Rams onto the field as the starting quarterback on Monday. It shouldn’t help LA, which is why our prediction for Packers vs Rams is a clear home win for Aaron Rodgers and his colleagues.
Kickoff of this Monday night game of NFL Week 15 is at 02:15 on Tuesday night in Green Bay. The game can be watched live on DAZN.
Green Bay Packers – Statistics & current form
Aaron Rodgers is still not giving up. After the 28-19 loss in Chicago, he continued to insist, prayerfully, that the Packers still have a good chance. We wouldn’t sign off on the term “good” right now, but the chance thing is true, of course.
They’ve won 16 of their last 18 home games at Lambeau Field and three of their last four games of the season are right there – in the winter. The conditions could be worse, even if there is of course a difficult away game in Miami in between.
Packers with rising form
Not only the last game against Chicago gives hope, also the one before against the Eagles’ top team and the one in Week 10 against the Cowboys. Especially offensively they are back on track now and put up 27.2 points per game over the last four weeks.
A very good value, compared to that of the Rams even an excellent one. Their upcoming opponents have put up just 17.5 points in the same period. We could very well imagine this ten-point difference as the final result for Monday.
Watson as Go-to-Guy
The offensive boost here bears one name in particular: Christian Watson. The rookie receiver has been playing big since his breakthrough against the Cowboys (3 touchdowns) and has scored in each of his last four games.
Seven touchdowns in the last four games and still a TD rate of 2.62, we rarely see such a value in the NFL.
Key Players:
QB: Aaron Rodgers
RB: Aaron Jones
WR: Christian Watson
TE: Robert Tonyan
K: Mason Crosby
Los Angeles Rams – Statistics & current form
That was truly Hollywood-like what happened Thursday night in Los Angeles. Baker Mayfield led the Rams to their first win after a six-game winless streak, even though he had only joined the team two days earlier and certainly only knew the rudiments of the playbook.
These are the kinds of stories the NFL writes, even if it will now remain just a side story of this year’s season when it comes to the Rams, as the franchise will pretty much miss the playoffs. But there could at least be exciting alternatives for next season.
Mayfield not the saviour
Despite that convincing last drive by Mayfield, with which he led his team 98 yards down the field, his performance should not be overstated. The remaining three quarters he was on the field, he also scored only ten points with the team.
While this was not surprising due to his lack of playbook know-how, it should be noted in light of the upcoming games. This was also the case against the Packers on Monday. It is unlikely that he will lead the Rams to a win there as well.
Not least because of the lack of support. In addition to Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford, Allen Robinson and possibly Aaron Donald are also out. So, in effect, the Rams’ four best players.
Running game still underground
Mayfield isn’t likely to get much support via the run either. Against the Raiders, this was again a reason why the offense couldn’t get going for a long time. Just 71 rushing yards could be achieved. Over the season, it is 86.1 rushing yards (third weakest value in the league).
But since this would be exactly the weakness of the Packers, who allow an average of 154.8 yards on the ground, this is extremely bad. Thus, we don’t expect too many points from the Rams, which also makes Green Bay vs. LA odds on under 17 Rams points interesting.
Key Players:
QB: Baker Mayfield
RB: Cam Akers
WR: Van Jefferson
TE: Tyler Higbee
K: Matt Gay
Green Bay Packers – Los Angeles Rams Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Another point that speaks against the Rams is the direct comparison. Seven of the last eight or even eight of the last ten direct duels went to Green Bay. Including all of them at Lambeau Field since 2007.
Given the current conditions, with LA having a new quarterback and the Packers on the upswing, there is little to make us doubt a Green Bay home win on Monday. Only Mayfield Mania, perhaps, but that should cool quickly at chilly Lambeau Field.
So for Packers vs Rams, Green Bay -7 odds are a possible betting option, or betting on the Rams to score few points. However, we’ve identified a touchdown by Christian Watson as the No. 1 bet, as he has scored in all of his last few games.
Green Bay Packers – Los Angeles Rams Tip
It’s supposed to be between -6 and -12 degrees Celsius at Lambeau Field on Monday. Not the weather the Los Angeles Rams are used to. Quite the opposite of the Packers, who love those conditions.
So for Green Bay vs Los Angeles, a bet on the Packers is definitely very playable. However, for even better value, we recommend betting on a Christian Watson touchdown. With his current form, odds of up to 2.62 are already exceptionally good.
Alternatively, we see bets on the Packers -7 for Monday. We can even extend this handicap to -9.5 with a little risk-taking, as even a double-digit win margin seems very possible.
