Trends point one way in Rams-Seahawks game Thursday, but don’t believe them | Opinion

NFL WEEK 5

GREG COTE’S THURSDAY PICK

RAMS (3-1) at SEAHAWKS (3-1)

Line: SEA by 2.

Cote’s pick: SEA 27-24.

TV: 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Fox/NFL.

Playoff-quality teams. Division rivals. Star quarterbacks. A pointfest likely. What more do you want in an NFL Week 5 kickoff, football fan? Rams opened as early three-point road favorites before the line swung sharply to Seattle after L.A.’s brutal 55-40 home loss to Tampa Bay. I mean, 68 Jared Goff passes and five Todd Gurley carries is imbalance on steroids. And if the Rams’ porous secondary got schooled by Jameis Winston, what might Russell Wilson do? Gurley calls Thursday night games “the dumbest things ever.” For players, yes. Fans might argue, at least with matchups like this one. No result except a low score would surprise in this tossup game. A Chargers win certainly would not. Trends suggest it. Rams have won three straight in series and are on a 9-1 roll in NFC West games. Still, we’re saddling up Wilson’s Hawks in the home nest coming in as the slightly better all-round, balanced team right now.