Week 5 of the NFL season kicks off Thursday night when the Los Angeles Rams visit the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams (3-1) are looking to bounce back after a 37-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, while the Seahawks (2-2) are fresh off a 28-21 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
ESPN betting analysts Joe Fortenbaugh (18-7-1, 5-0 last week), Doug Kezirian (7-8-2, 3-0), Tyler Fulghum (5-6, 2-0) and Anita Marks (82-48, 18-13), sports betting deputy editor David Bearman (11-5-1, 2-2), Stats & Information's Seth Walder (18-22, 5-5), Football Outsiders' Aaron Schatz (16-6, 5-1) and fantasy/betting analyst Eric Moody (7-5) have teamed up to offer their best bets.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook (as of Wednesday).
Los Angeles Rams (-2.5, 54.5) at Seattle Seahawks
Fortenbaugh: As they say, "a hungry dog hunts best," and I doubt there is a hungrier team in the NFL right now than the Rams, who were thoroughly embarrassed by the Cardinals last Sunday. Under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams are a highly lucrative 15-5 straight up and 14-6 against the spread when coming off a loss, outscoring opponents by the healthy average of 8.3 points per game in the process. Seattle got back in the win column last week at San Francisco, but the 49ers flushed that game down the toilet with a series of bad decisions that turned a 7-0 lead into a 21-7 deficit before finally losing by seven. The Seahawks may be 2-2, but they're a team with issues, and it's only a matter of time before that becomes a national talking point.