St. Louis Rams Week 16 Predictions Roundup: New York Giants

Dec 7, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) watches his team play from the bench against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at LP Field. The Giants beat the Titans 36-7. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

After a tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week on Thursday Night Football, the Rams have had an extended break to rest and prepare for the New York “Football” Giants. Even with the loss, the St. Louis’ defense has still yet to allow a touchdown in three-straight games, and has allowed more than 13 points in only one of their last five games, which includes a matchup against the Denver Broncos. Meanwhile, the Giants just snapped a seven-game losing streak, taking out the quarterback-less Titans and Redskins in back-to-back weeks. Who will the national media take as the victor on Sunday?

Pro Football Talk: 21-17, Rams; 24-20, Rams

"MDS’s take: If the Rams were in any division other than the NFC West, they’d have a real shot at being a playoff team. St. Louis can’t get to the postseason, but it can get to 8-8 with two more wins, and one of those wins will come on Sunday.Florio’s take:  Both teams hope to finish the season strongly.  The Rams are currently stronger than the Giants, despite a pair of victories by Eli and company."

CBS Sports (Prisco Picks):  24-21, Giants

"Both teams have shown life down the stretch, which likely will save Giants coach Tom Coughlin’s job. The Giants have showed a lively pass rush the past three weeks. That will slow the St. Louis offense and Eli Manning will find a way to win it with a big throw to Odell Beckham Jr."

NFL.com: 23-21, Rams

"This is one of the tougher games to pick in Week 16. The Giants have looked solid the past two weeks, with rookie Odell Beckham Jr. continuing his one-man rampage on NFL secondaries. Shaun Hill has no Beckham to play with, and from the looks of last Thursday night, lacks a fastball, too. Perhaps it was merely one of those nights, but the Rams need something from Hill to win Sunday.I feel the Rams’ pass rush will get to Eli Manning six to eight times, forcing enough outs on third down to provide the STL offense with a number of short fields. St. Lou over Big Blue. #NYGvsSTL"

Ramblin’ Fan: 23-13, Rams

"The Giants are riding a two-game winning streak, but those teams were the Titans and Redskins. The team looks underwhelming and even if they win out, a 7-9 record might spell some turnover in the Big Apple. For once this season, the Rams needed to lean on their offense to simply be okay to win a game last week. The offense sputtered and tallied a whooping six points. With the ball, the Rams seemed out of place and uncomfortable all night long last Thursday. Though the sack happy Rams defense only mustered one quarterback takedown, they have yet to allow a single touchdown in over three games. The Giants are a team floundering and with the Rams aggressive secondary and blitz happy Gregg Williams at the helm, this should be a victory of St. Louis."

Some sites prefer to merely throw out their picks, instead of outlining boldly predicted scores. In a unanimous vote, six of seven experts in USA Today went with the Rams to pull out the victory on Sunday over the New York Giants. In the Week 16 “expert picks” for ESPN, a surprising large 12-of-14 pundits picked the St. Louis Rams to win. In CBS Sports’ “Against the Spread” predictions, five of eight went with the “underdog” Giants, which is understandable given that the Rams are surprising 5.5 point favorites. However, as you would expect, with their “Straight Up” picks, the votes swung back in favor of the Rams, with seven of nine experts picking Jeff Fisher and Co. to win.