2025 NFL Picks – Week 2: Rams at Titans

The Matchup. Edge: Rams.

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LOS ANGELES OFFENSE: We had no news about Matthew Stafford entering the game. There were no updates about his back. I complained about the horrible reporting of the Rams last week, and I’ll do it again. Jourdan Rodrigue, who “covers” the Rams for the Athletic, posted one tweet about the Rams on Friday, the day the final injury reports are released, and it was a generic quote from Sean McVay. The rest of her tweets were about other nonsense. She and the other Rams beat reporters are an absolute disgrace.

Stafford looked just fine against the Texans. The Rams scored only 14 points, but did so against one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Titans certainly do not have one of the best defenses in the NFL. They have some big problems at cornerback that Stafford will be able to expose. Tennessee’s edge rush isn’t good either, so Stafford will have plenty of time in the pocket.

Stafford will be able to lean on Kyren Williams as well. The Titans allowed some significant gains to Denver’s running backs, and Williams is better than what the Broncos possess at the position.

TENNESSEE OFFENSE: Cam Ward’s stat line from Week 1 looks miserable, but he didn’t play that poorly. He was betrayed by his receivers and offensive line. His wideouts dropped so many passes that Ward’s dad expressed his frustration in the stands quite openly. And then there was the offensive line, which surrendered two sacks on one drive to take Tennessee out of field goal range for the go-ahead kick in the fourth quarter.

The offensive line will once again have a very difficult matchup. The Rams have a ferocious pass rush that hounded C.J. Stroud consistently. The Titans block better than the Texans, but it’s not a wide disparity. Jared Verse and company will flood the backfield and make things very difficult for Ward.

Ward won’t be able to depend on Tony Pollard’s runs either. The Rams figure to have a strong run defense this year, which is what we saw when they limited Nick Chubb in Week 1. Pollard is better than Chubb right now, but I wouldn’t expect much from him.

RECAP: There might be some casual box score viewers who were impressed by the Titans’ performance last week. They lost to the Broncos by only eight points in Ward’s first road game, after all. They even had a chance to take the lead when the Titans took over possession in the red zone, down 13-12, late in the fourth quarter.

However, this was a misleading result. The Broncos outgained the Titans, 317-133, and they averaged 2.1 more yards per play. Denver played sloppily with four turnovers. The Rams, who are much more careful with the football, will not give Tennessee nearly as many opportunities to keep this game close.

Speaking of the Rams, Stafford looked healthy against the Texans in the 14-9 victory, so I’m fairly comfortable betting them in this game. There’s always a chance that Stafford’s back acts up, but I think we’re safe this week.

I’m a fan of the Rams -5.5, if you couldn’t tell. I have this line priced at -8.5, so we’re getting a 10.55-percent edge with Los Angeles. This is my second-largest discrepancy this week after Bengals-Jaguars (prior to the move down to +3.5).

The only concern I have with the Rams is that there’s a chance they could look ahead to next week’s game against the Eagles. I’d be more convinced of this if they were playing at home, but Sean McVay usually prepares his teams well for these early starts in away games.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS: Shockingly, the Titans are getting a ton of public support in this game. I guess people were impressed that they kept the Denver game close even though the Broncos had a ton of unforced errors.

The Motivation. Edge: Titans.

The Rams could be looking ahead to playing the Eagles next week.

The Spread. Edge: Rams.

WalterFootball.com Calculated Spread: Rams -8.5.

Westgate Advance Point Spread: Rams -5.5.

Computer Model: Rams -6.

The Vegas. Edge: Rams.

People were impressed with the Titans last week.

Percentage of money on Tennessee: 73% (22,000 bets)

The Trends. Edge: Rams.

Titans are 30-22 ATS in non-conference home games.

Opening Line: Rams -5.5.

Opening Total: 45.5.

Weather: .