The Los Angeles Rams are looking to bounce back after Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and they have a great opportunity to on Sunday against the 4-9 Washington Commanders. While it’s not a bad idea to bet the Rams to cover the spread as 6.5-point favorites, there are other ways to wager on this game.
We’ve got four prop bets to consider in Sunday’s matchup, all buying into the Rams’ passing attack against Washington’s last-ranked pass defense.
Cooper Kupp over 72.5 receiving yards (-114, Fanduel)
Kupp looked much more like himself against the Ravens as he continues to recover from the ankle injury that’s bothered him for weeks. He caught eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, creating several big plays against one of the league’s top pass defenses.
Well, now he gets the NFL’s worst pass defense and a matchup with Benjamin St-Juste in the slot, a corner who’s allowed 762 yards in coverage this season. Kupp shouldn’t have much trouble going over this number as long as the score doesn’t get out of hand quickly and skew the play calling toward the run.
Matthew Stafford over 264.5 passing yards (-114, Fanduel)
Stafford has gone over this number in six of 12 games this season, which is why the line is set where it is. However, it may not be fully accounting for the quality of the defense he’s facing. The Commanders have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL this season, which gives Stafford a great opportunity to put up big numbers as long as the score doesn’t get one-sided early.
He threw for 279 yards against the Browns and 294 against the Ravens in the last two weeks, and both teams rank in the top four in passing yards allowed. If he can do that against those defenses, Stafford should push 300 yards on Sunday.
Cooper Kupp to score a TD (+115, Fanduel)
There’s only one team in the NFL that’s allowed more touchdown receptions to wide receivers than the Commanders, who have given up 20 in 13 games. Sean McVay does a great job of drawing up plays for Kupp in the red zone, which is exactly what he did two weeks ago against Cleveland when Kupp ran a perfect route off motion and came open in the end zone on a spot route. Kupp also scored against the Ravens last week, so he’s going for three in a row.
At +115, we’re getting Kupp at pretty good odds, still at plus-money after he was frequently -110 or lower in 2021.
Puka Nacua longest reception over 24.5 yards (-115, DraftKings)
Nacua does a lot of the dirty work as a receiver on underneath passes, but he’s also been a big-play threat for the Rams this season. He has 10 receptions of at least 25 yards as a rookie, consistently breaking tackles and creating explosive plays.
The Commanders have allowed an NFL-high 55 passes of at least 20 yards this season, so that’s what Nacua and the Rams are going up against on Sunday. Stafford’s longest completion over 38.5 yards at -110 is another way to fade the Commanders pass defense, but I like Puka to have at least one play over 25 yards.
