The Los Angeles Rams are underdogs for the first time all season in their 2019 NFC Championship matchup with the New Orleans Saints. If L.A. manages to win on the road, the betting odds still won’t be in their favor in the final contest of the playoffs.
According to the lookahead lines for Super Bowl LIII, the Rams won’t be favored against either the Kansas City Chiefs or New England Patriots. The projected point spread between Los Angeles and the eventual AFC champion is a pick’em.
The Rams are getting 3.5 points in Sunday’s visit to New Orleans, per OddsShark. Kansas City is laying a field goal at home against New England in the AFC Championship Game.
Super Bowl LIII lookahead lines (@5dimes):
Chiefs PK
Rams 63.5
Chiefs +1.5
Saints 59.5
Patriots PK
Rams 57.5
Patriots +1.5
Saints 52.5
— OddsShark (@OddsShark) January 14, 2019
It wasn’t too long ago that the Rams and Chiefs played one of the most exciting games in NFL history. The two teams set a record by scoring a combined 105 points in Los Angeles as the Rams pulled out a 54-51 victory on “Monday Night Football” in Week 11. Jared Goff threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns while Patrick Mahomes totaled 478 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
That victory put the Rams at 10-1 heading into their bye week, and they sure looked like a team that might go on to win the Super Bowl. Los Angeles went 3-2 to close out the regular season before beating the Dallas Cowboys 30-22 in the divisional round.
New England and Los Angeles haven’t met since the 2016 season. The Patriots won 26-10 at Gillette Stadium and the Rams went on to a 4-12 record in the final year before Sean McVay took over as the team’s head coach.
Los Angeles is trying to become the first road team in six years to win the NFC Championship Game. They were beaten on the road by the Saints 45-35 on Nov. 4, suffering their first loss of the season.
The Los Angeles Rams celebrate an interception in the fourth quarter of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 19, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News