Rams-Seahawks Spread Steady at -3 After Opening As Pick

The Rams-Seahawks spread was listed across the board at -3 in favor of the visitor.  St. Louis will face a Seattle team that has lost seven of its last nine games and may have lost their starting quarterback as well, Matt Hasselbeck strained his lower back/hip/gluteal area against the Buccaneers. If Hasselbeck can't go, Charlie Whitehurst is expected to make his second career start.

90 percent of the backing on the spread was going St. Louis’ way.  65 percent of the money line action was on the Rams.  75 percent of the total betting action was on the OVER 41.5.

Why Is This Game Important: It’s hard to imagine that two teams facing one another with records under .500 would provide for one of the most critical games during Week 17 of an NFL season.  Whichever team wins this game wins the pitiful NFC West.  Whatever the outcome, the winner will be the only .500 or under team entering this year’s Playoffs.  Seattle, while one game behind St. Louis coming into this showdown, moves onto the Playoffs with a victory since the teams have identical records in divisional play.

Series Trends Go Against The Rams: The Seahawks have won 9 of the last 10 against St. Louis.  The Rams, however, won their last game in this series earlier in the season. 

While the Rams have not had a road victory over Seattle (6-9) in six years, the Seahawks are 5-16 Against The Spread as an underdog over the last 2 seasons. 

The good news for the Rams is that they are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall.  They are also 6-0 ATS vs. a team with a losing record.

The Seahawks have been unraveling the second half of this season after showing some initial promise. One staggering stat to consider: Seattle is 3-13 ATS in their last 16 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game.

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com