The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will make the journey to the Midwest to face the division rival St. Louis Rams as convincing 7.5-point favorites, according to OddsShark. The over/under is set at 43 points, with both defenses figuring to have a substantial impact on the outcome of the game.
NFL picks and predictions, Seahawks vs. Rams 2014: Can St. Louis shock the world?
The Seahawks have proven to be beatable with a 3-2 record, and the Rams are at home. But do the experts really think this matchup can go the Rams’ way?
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St. Louis’ offense has struggled to put points on the board, with its No. 24-rated unit scoring 20.2 points per game. The Hawks have fallen off a bit since boasting the No. 1 scoring defense a season ago -- they have the 14th-ranked squad this season.
That all goes out the window at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday as division rivalries have a tendency to put teams on equal footing. Take, for example, the San Diego Chargers' narrow 31-28 victory over the underdog Oakland Raiders in a similar set of circumstances. In that contest with Oakland being a home underdog, the 7-point spread took a beating.
The stage is set for an upset, but what do the pros think?
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is the lone panelist among all of the experts this week who thinks the Rams will win. All seven of his colleagues chose the Seahawks, as did ESPN’s group by a margin of 13-0. Similarly, Yahoo Sports’ two-man panel sees the game going Seattle’s way.
When it comes to the home team over at SB Nation, our staff chose the Seahawks across the board, 7-0.
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