Falcons - Rams odds: Undaunted by recent losses, the oddsmakers favor Atlanta

The Falcons have not done their best work in recent weeks, losing a couple of winnable games, and now the pressure is on to perform lest the Tampa Bay Buccaneers soar by them in the NFC South. They’ll need this win, and recognizing both that and the team’s superiority over the Rams thus far in 2016, the oddsmakers like Atlanta’s chances this week.

The Falcons opened up as 4.5 point favorites, the third week in a row they’ve been the favorite. This is the first such week they’ve been on the road, and that plus a rash of injuries is enough to make you wonder how Atlanta’s going to fare. They could be without Jake Matthews, Julio Jones, and Mohamed Sanu in this one, and that’s a significant blow to the offense, which needs to be great for the Falcons to win this year.

This Rams game has given me pause for a while now, and I still think it’s a game the Falcons may lose, given that they’ll be swinging out to the West Coast and the Atlanta defense is in the habit of making lousy offenses look great. Then I remember that this Rams team is coached by Jeff Fisher and relentlessly lousy, and I do feel a bit better.

Who do you have in this one?