Betting on a Battle for First in The NFC West

 Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks were able to establish themselves as the clear team to beat in the NFC West. They were also one of the top favorites to represent their conference in Super Bowl LV.

A loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 25 and last Sunday's slip-up on the road against the Buffalo Bills have raised more than a few question marks for the Seahawks heading into the second half. 

They are still solid -225 favorites to win the West. However, at 6-2 straight-up, a loss this Sunday on the road against the 5-3 Los Angeles Rams could lead to a three-way tie in the division standings. 

Arizona is also 5-3 heading into a Week 10 matchup against the Bills. The Cardinals are favored by 2 1/2 points at home.

The Seahawks are set as two-point road underdogs against the rival Rams. This will be the first meeting this season with the showdown in Seattle set for Week 16. Over the past 10 games in this divisional tilt, Los Angeles has won seven of those games SU with a slight 6-4 edge against the spread. It has a 2-1 record SU and ATS in the last three meetings.

The Rams have also lost two of their last three games (SU and ATS) with road setbacks against San Francisco and Miami wrapped around a win at home against the Chicago Bears. LA is a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS at home this season.

The current betting consensus is split 50/50 betting this matchup. I give the slight lean to Los Angeles at home. I also see the Cardinals getting past the Bills to set-up that three-way logjam in the NFC West standings.

My best bet for Sunday's game in LA is the UNDER on a 54 1/2-point total line. While the Oddsmakers are looking for a shootout, I have the final score coming lower than this inflated line. The total has stayed UNDER in the Rams' last five games and that trend gets extended to six once this game has gone final.

Each week of the NFL season, I release my Top 10 picks for the popular sports betting site Scores & Stats. For this week's pick go to: Dave's Top 10 Best Bet for NFL Week 10