NFL Over/Under Win Totals Preview: NFC West

The Los Angeles Rams opened the season by winning 8 straight and 11 of their first 12, running away with the NFC West title in the process. The NFL betting odds board strongly suggests that the Rams could regress this year with their O/U win total set at 10. Seattle looks decent and if San Francisco and Arizona show any improvement at all the NFC West could be one of the most entertaining–and most unpredictable–divisions in football.

NFC WEST–NFL WIN TOTALS PREVIEWS

LOS ANGELES RAMS: The question now becomes ‘what is the rationalization for the Rams lower win total?’. The Super Bowl loser ‘hangover’ concept is in play. Both Super Bowl teams sometimes struggle early but for whatever reason it seems to hit the losing team more severely. Even so, it’s tough to downgrade the Rams just for that. The team remains loaded on both sides of the ball. Todd Gurley’s punishing workload has been a constant concern but the Rams may have taken a big step into resolving that by drafting Memphis running back Darrell Henderson who had no business still be available at #70. Some NFL writers have called Henderson ‘the steal of the draft’. If you like the ‘Under’ 10 wins keep in mind that the Rams would have to slip to 9-7 for you to cash your ticket. Tough to expect that from a talented, well coached team.

LOS ANGELES RAMS OVER 10 WINS +100 (BEST BET)

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Plenty of questions about the Seattle Seahawks but quarterback isn’t one of them. The Seahawks gave QB Russell Wilson to a big money extension. Wilson is definitely worth the investment but the resources allocated to him meant they had to part company with veterans in other positions hoping draftees can pick up the slack. The loss of Frank Clark and Doug Baldwin are big. The Seahawks drafted three WR in hopes that they can replace Baldwin by committee. They’re also hoping that first-round pick L.J. Collier can help mitigate the impact of Clark’s departure. Pete Carroll might not get the credit he deserves as a NFL head coach. You’ll remember that when he came in from USC there were questions about his ability to make the jump to the NFL. All he’s done is won a Super Bowl, made the playoffs 7 times in his 9 season and won games at a .620 clip. The Hawks would have to drop to 8-8 or worse to cash tickets on the ‘Under’. This isn’t a .500 team and Carroll sure isn’t a .500 coach.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS OVER 8.5 WINS -120 (BEST BET)

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: For a team that won only 4 games last year the win total bar is set pretty high for the Niners at 8.5 wins. The dynamic is a simple one: if QB Jimmy Garoppolo stays healthy the Niners could improve dramatically. Garoppolo could use a few more weapons around him but he does have George Kittle who is an elite level tight end. If running back Jerick McKinnon is able to return from his ACL injury that would help immensely. The Niners’ focus was on defense during the off season acquiring talented young linebacker Kwon Alexander. They drafted Nick Bosa out of Ohio State with the #2 overall pick and he’s already proven to be a beast in training camp. If he avoids injury he’ll be a terror for opposing quarterbacks.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS OVER 8.5 WINS +100 (BEST BET)

ARIZONA CARDINALS: The Cardinals could be one of the most entertaining teams in watch in the entire NFL. New head coach Kliff Kingsbury is trying to bring his pass happy attack to the pro level and the Cardinals used the #1 pick to get a quarterback who could play in that style. Kyler Murray who could be the perfect fit in Kingsbury’s system though he’ll have a steep learning curve as he works to make good decisions in the faster NFL game. The Arizona OL was awful last year and not sure they did much to fix it. Larry Fitzgerald is still an elite receiver and the Cardinals picked up a number of running backs in the draft. They also brought in cornerback Byron Murphy out of Washington and he could make an immediate impact paired with Patrick Peterson. Cardinals might have the highest upside and the lowest downside of any team in the league. For that reason, it makes taking an O/U win total position tough but we’ll lean ‘Under’.

ARIZONA CARDINALS UNDER 5.5 WINS -130

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