Broncos vs. Rams NFL Week 16 Betting Preview: Rams to Win Home Finale vs. Denver
Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, December 25, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
Best Bet: Rams +1 at -108 with Heritage
Denver's Quarterback Situation
All season long, Denver has failed to mount a threatening pass attack.
Russell Wilson was paid very handsomely to play for Denver, but he's proven to be a total dud.
In fact, Wilson's passer rating this season, 85.0, is the worst in his career.
This season is the only one in which his passer rating was below 90.
His struggles reveal the extent to which he relied on having strong wide receivers in Seattle.
The ones that he throws to in Denver are not nearly as good.
Denver Offense's Injuries
Wilson may not even play in Sunday's game.
He is listed as 'day-to-day' with a concussion that kept him out of his team's last game.
Brett Rypien started in his place.
You might wonder how much worse it can get than having Wilson start at quarterback.
Rypien has more interceptions than touchdowns both on the season and in his career.
His passing numbers are poor despite his ultra-conservative approach -- this season, he's averaging 5.5 YPA.
In addition to quarterback issues, Denver has wide receiver issues.
While nobody would have compared, in terms of quality, Denver's top two wide receivers to Seattle's, the Broncos might be without its leading wide receiver -- which would leave the other wide receiver to deal with former All-Pro selection, cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Courtland Sutton is listed as 'day-to-day' with a hamstring injury that kept him out of his team's last two games.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously pesky, so it's quite likely that he remains well below 100% if he even plays in Sunday's contest.
Denver's pass attack ranks as "highly" as it does -- 22nd, which is obviously rather bad -- largely because of Wilson and Sutton.
Right now, the Bronco pass attack is seriously handicapped, although it's already anemic when healthy.
The Importance of Denver's Rush Attack
Given its problems at quarterback and wide receiver, Denver is especially reliant on running the ball.
When the Broncos achieved a rare win last week, they relied on their rush attack accruing 168 yards on the ground.
Can they expect a similarly strong rushing output on Sunday?
Ram Rush Defense
Critically for Denver, the Rams have one of the NFL's best rush defenses.
They rank second in run stop win rate and fourth at limiting opposing rush yards per game.
Teams have tried running the ball more on the Rams since Aaron Donald is injured, but L.A.'s opposing rush YPC average has budged by all of .1 since his absence, the slightest of perceptible margins.
After all, the Rams still possess elite linebacker Bobby Wagner, who has 13.5 run stuffs on the season.
Ram Offense's Outlook
The margin of error for Denver's defense is slim as a result of its shortcomings on offense.
After giving up 23 points in a loss to Carolina, the Bronco defense may seem potent.
But Denver has passed very easy tests: a Baltimore team whose offense is suffering a multi-game rut; also, after giving up 34 in a loss to Kansas City, Denver got to face an Arizona team led by its third-string quarterback whose interception allowed Denver to exceed 17 points.
The Rams will rely on capable wide receivers in speedy deep threat Tutu Atwell and in route-running expert Van Jefferson.
In particular, Atwell's speed is useful because quarterback Baker Mayfield owns the second-best deep ball completion percentage.
Running back Cam Akers can exceed five YPC again against Denver's mediocre-ranked run defense.
The Verdict
The total for this game is unplayable because of how low it is and because of the weapons possessed by L.A.'s offense.
Expect a nice mixture of Akers, Atwell, and Jefferson to ensure that the Rams win their final home game of the regular season against the Broncos who have yet to win a road game this season.
Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, December 25, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
Best Bet: Rams +1 at -108 with Heritage
Denver's Quarterback Situation
All season long, Denver has failed to mount a threatening pass attack.
Russell Wilson was paid very handsomely to play for Denver, but he's proven to be a total dud.
In fact, Wilson's passer rating this season, 85.0, is the worst in his career.
This season is the only one in which his passer rating was below 90.
His struggles reveal the extent to which he relied on having strong wide receivers in Seattle.
The ones that he throws to in Denver are not nearly as good.
Denver Offense's Injuries
Wilson may not even play in Sunday's game.
He is listed as 'day-to-day' with a concussion that kept him out of his team's last game.
Brett Rypien started in his place.
You might wonder how much worse it can get than having Wilson start at quarterback.
Rypien has more interceptions than touchdowns both on the season and in his career.
His passing numbers are poor despite his ultra-conservative approach -- this season, he's averaging 5.5 YPA.
In addition to quarterback issues, Denver has wide receiver issues.
While nobody would have compared, in terms of quality, Denver's top two wide receivers to Seattle's, the Broncos might be without its leading wide receiver -- which would leave the other wide receiver to deal with former All-Pro selection, cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Courtland Sutton is listed as 'day-to-day' with a hamstring injury that kept him out of his team's last two games.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously pesky, so it's quite likely that he remains well below 100% if he even plays in Sunday's contest.
Denver's pass attack ranks as "highly" as it does -- 22nd, which is obviously rather bad -- largely because of Wilson and Sutton.
Right now, the Bronco pass attack is seriously handicapped, although it's already anemic when healthy.
The Importance of Denver's Rush Attack
Given its problems at quarterback and wide receiver, Denver is especially reliant on running the ball.
When the Broncos achieved a rare win last week, they relied on their rush attack accruing 168 yards on the ground.
Can they expect a similarly strong rushing output on Sunday?
Ram Rush Defense
Critically for Denver, the Rams have one of the NFL's best rush defenses.
They rank second in run stop win rate and fourth at limiting opposing rush yards per game.
Teams have tried running the ball more on the Rams since Aaron Donald is injured, but L.A.'s opposing rush YPC average has budged by all of .1 since his absence, the slightest of perceptible margins.
After all, the Rams still possess elite linebacker Bobby Wagner, who has 13.5 run stuffs on the season.
Ram Offense's Outlook
The margin of error for Denver's defense is slim as a result of its shortcomings on offense.
After giving up 23 points in a loss to Carolina, the Bronco defense may seem potent.
But Denver has passed very easy tests: a Baltimore team whose offense is suffering a multi-game rut; also, after giving up 34 in a loss to Kansas City, Denver got to face an Arizona team led by its third-string quarterback whose interception allowed Denver to exceed 17 points.
The Rams will rely on capable wide receivers in speedy deep threat Tutu Atwell and in route-running expert Van Jefferson.
In particular, Atwell's speed is useful because quarterback Baker Mayfield owns the second-best deep ball completion percentage.
Running back Cam Akers can exceed five YPC again against Denver's mediocre-ranked run defense.
The Verdict
The total for this game is unplayable because of how low it is and because of the weapons possessed by L.A.'s offense.
Expect a nice mixture of Akers, Atwell, and Jefferson to ensure that the Rams win their final home game of the regular season against the Broncos who have yet to win a road game this season.
