Week 15 Rams, Seahawks Round Up
Minnesota Vikings Defeat St. Louis Rams 36-22
In the early NFC West game on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the St. Louis Rams 36-22. Heading into the game, the Vikings were 5-7-1 ATS and had an Over/Under record of 5-8 and the Rams were 9-4 ATS and had an Over/Under record of 7-6. The line in this game favored the Rams by three points, and the Over/Under was set at 39. Obviously, the Rams failed to cover the spread, and the point total went way over, thanks in large part to another dominant rushing performance from Adrian Peterson and five made field goals from rookie Vikings kicker Blair Walsh.
Adrian Peterson ran for 212 yards, his fourth 200 yard game and second in two weeks, and Vikings defensive b ack Everson Griffen returned an errant Sam Bradford pass for a touchdown. “Yeah, that’s one of those things I’ve got to be able to see,” Bradford said about the pick-six. “He’s right there. You can’t throw one right to him like that.”
“He threw it right to me,” Griffen said. “It was a dream come true. I want to say, ‘Thank you, Sam Bradford.”
It’s probably a bad sign for your season when defensive players from the other team are personally thanking your quarterback. Still, the St. Louis Rams overachieved this season, head coach Jeff Fisher’s first, and the future is bright for the franchise. Whether that future will remain in St. Louis or move to Los Angeles remains to be seen, but the team has a solid foundation, especially defensively, to build on moving forward.
Seattle Seahawks Defeat Buffalo Bills 50-17
Seattle is truly on a roll lately. After their dominant 58-0 shutout of the Arizona Cardinals last weekend, the Seahawks put up 50 points again, this time against the Buffalo Bills. Crucially, this massive offensive outburst came on the road, where the Seahawks have struggled mightily this season. However, after their thrilling win against the Bears in Chicago two weeks ago and this one, the Seahawks may have finally turned a corner playing away from their famously friendly home stadium.
Indeed, the Seahawks have been something special to watch lately. They have scored 108 points in two weeks, the third most in that short a time span in NFL history. They also became only the third team to ever score 50 points in consecutive weeks. The Seahawks were favored by 5.5 points heading into this one, and the Over/Under was set at 42.5 points. If Seattle keeps scoring at such a furious clip, watch for those Over/Under lines to keep climbing right along with their point spread.
Here were some of the betting trends heading into this game, per CappersPicks.com:
• The total had gone OVER in 5 of Seattle’s last 5 games when playing Buffalo
• The total had gone OVER in 5 of Seattle’s last 6 games
• Seattlewas  4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• Seattle was 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
• The total had gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo’s last 5 games when playing Seattle
• The total had gone UNDER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 6 games
• Buffalo was 6-16 SU in its last 22 games
Seattle continued its dominant and winning ways here. Russell Wilson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another while Earl Thomas returned an interception for a score and running back Marshawn Lynch had another 100-yard rushing day, his eighth of the season, while also scoring a touchdown. The Seahawks are now 9-5 and can win in a lot of different ways. They get San Francisco and St. Louis at home to close the season, and if things break right, they could easily find themselves not only claiming a playoff spot but winning the NFC West.
