The red-hot Los Angeles Rams (6-1) will hit the road to face the ice-cold Houston Texans (1-6) in Week 8 NFL action.
The Rams were largely expected to be one of the best teams in the NFL this season and have performed to expectations thus far. Matthew Stafford has been an enormous boon for the offense and has had exceptional rapport with receiver Cooper Kupp, who has put up gaudy numbers week after week.
Running back Darrell Henderson Jr. has served as an excellent replacement to the injured Cam Akers so far and Los Angeles’s defense has been as good as advertised to this point as well.
The Texans have been awful in the wake of losing Deshaun Watson for likely the entire season. However, the hamstring injury to Week 1 starter Tyrod Taylor has proved to be an even bigger loss than initially expected as the Texans have had to turn to rookie Davis Mills to steer the rebuild. Taylor has been back at practice this week, but Mills will remain under center for Week 8 against the Rams.
Either way, this is a lop-sided matchup in every sense as the Rams look to improve to 7-1 and the Texans continue their rebuild.
Please note that all Rams vs Texans odds are current as of 11:00 AM EST on Friday, October 29.
Sportsbook Play of the Day
Before you make your Rams vs Texans bet picks, you should know that Caesars Sportsbook is among the industry’s best, offering tons of promotions and a fantastic $5,000 risk-free welcome bonus to new signups using our promo code .
Read Chris Wassel’s Caesars Sportsbook review for more insight and get your welcome bonus below, or continue reading this analysis for our Rams vs Texans best bets.
Rams vs Texans Prediction
The Rams are quite obviously the better team in this matchup and should be heading for the playoffs. The Texans, being in the first year of a rebuild, are losing games like it’s their job at the moment.
Matthew Stafford was always the perfect fit for the Rams’ offense, and by many advanced metrics, he has been the best quarterback in the NFL this season. He had an excellent game against his former team, the Detroit Lions, in Week 7. He completed 28 of 41 passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and didn’t turn the ball over in a 28-19 win.
Stafford is currently sporting a 19-to-4 TD/INT ratio, placing him amongst the game’s best signal-callers.
Davis Mills had an excellent game against the New England Patriots in Week 5, but has looked horrendous since. Mills has done well in terms of completion percentage — 63% in Week 6 and 80% in Week 7 — but the passing game hasn’t been fruitful as it has yielded no touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Texans are having Mills use his check-down options often and are trying to utilize their backfield more. This is understandable considering the shortcomings of the rookie over the past few weeks.
Overall, the Rams are far too good to be upset by a lowly Texans team and my prediction is evidenced by that.
Prediction: Rams 30, Texans 13
The Texans’ offense, led by quarterback Davis Mills, has registered less than 10 points in four of Houston’s last five games. (Image: USA TODAY Sports)
Rams vs. Texans Best Bets
Best Bets: Rams -14 (-110) at DraftKings
Wager: 1 unit
I like the Rams a lot in this game and it’s hard not to. The Texans have been outscored by an average of 22.4 points per game across the past five weeks.
This is the second consecutive double-digit spread attached to the Rams and I expect them to cover it in Week 8. The Texans are so bad and the Rams are an elite team. While this might be viewed as a trap of sorts, I’m all aboard the train.
Back the better team to cover by more than two touchdowns.
Best Bet: Under 47.5 Total Points (-110) at WynnBET
Wager: 0.75 units
The under is a dicey play, but I typically like backing the under in NFL games that I’m expecting to result in a blowout. As you can see by my final score prediction, I don’t expect this under to hit by much, but I also think there is more downside to a total than upside.
Davis Mills is very capable of leading the Texans to a 3-point dud performance as he has done multiple times. There’s even a chance that Houston doesn’t score at all as it did in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills.
Back the under with the idea that the Texans can legitimately score less than a touchdown over the course of this game.
