It’s a classic Week 18 NFL odds battle between Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz as a pair of playoff-bound NFC West teams wrap up the regular season with the San Francisco 49ers sitting as a 4-point favorite vs. the visiting Rams, who are content sitting every important starter.
The 49ers have the No.1 seed in the NFC locked up but with the bye looming, Kyle Shanahan is giving many of his key starters some early snaps which is why the 49ers to cover the first half has become a very popular bet for a wild Week 18 slate.
I break down the Week 18 NFL odds and offer my free NFL picks for Rams at 49ers on Sunday, January 7.
Rams vs 49ers odds
Rams vs 49ers predictions
It’s a play that is starting to make a lot of noise within the betting community and it’s the reason the first-half San Francisco 49ers spread is hitting -3 — up from -2.5 in a game where they are -4 on the full-game spread.
The Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay are content resting all their key starters including Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams, Aaron Donald, Tyler Higbee, and Ernest Jones.
Puka Nacua will start but just long enough to break some rookie records. He needs just four catches and 29 yards to break both the reception and yardage records. He will sit shortly after his accomplishment.
This was already an LA team that was devoid of depth as it’s well documented that it’s sold most of its recent draft picks and the backend is built on undrafted and low-round draft picks.
San Francisco has the No.1 seed locked up but because of the bye, Kyle Shanahan is a little hesitant to rest all his starters for two weeks. Brock Purdy is out and Sam Darnold is in, but I can trust Darnold in this offense more than Carson Wentz and a big dropoff in talent around him.
Christian McCaffrey is also out for the home side but it sounds like most of the big names on offense will get some snaps early before taking a break later in the game. This is a massive advantage for the 49ers early and worth the first-half spread up to -3 — which it should close at.
Culture and coaching for the 30-minute win here.
My best bet: 49ers first-half -2.5 (-130 at Pinnacle)Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.
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Rams vs 49ers same-game parlay
49ers -0.5 first halfResult of Rams first drive — PuntBoth teams to score 15+ points — No
+350 at bet365
There aren’t many options for props here, but the Niners have a huge edge in the first 30 minutes with more starters in the lineup. Wentz will likely hand the ball off twice in the first set of downs or hit Nacua with a bubble screen to help him with his record-setting. Wentz vs. Darnold does not scream points and the final 15 minutes of this game could resemble something from late August.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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