The Rams bounced back in a major way from a rough start to the season, and the fact that Los Angeles is coming off a bye only helps. Sean McVay will have his team ready for a tough road environment in Pittsburgh. I still believe in Steelers QB Mason Rudolph long-term, but he's down to his third running back and the offense was already struggling some. Jalen Ramsey should be able to take out JuJu Smith-Schuster, and the defensive front is enough to bottle up the run. I like the Rams in this spot. They're road favorites of more than a FG against one of America's most-bet teams for a reason.

The Rams are headed in the right direction as they come out of their bye week 5-3 overall but 6-2 ATS. I love the addition of Jalen Ramsey to the secondary, which gives Aaron Donald more time to get to the quarterback. The Steelers are headed in the right direction as well, but they do not have the same talent as the Rams. Jared Goff has thrown for 2,367 yards in his first eight games. Conversely, Pittsburgh's Mason Rudolph has recorded a little over 1,000 in his five starts and one relief appearance.

When the Rams lost three straight a lot of people wrote them off, but they’ve come back strong in their last two, aided by a defense that took a lot of heat during the losing streak. They’ve surrendered just 10 points in each of their last two. The Rams are currently on a 10-3 ATS run in their last 13 games. Back L.A.

Both the Rams and Steelers have seen their games go Under the total more often than not this season (3 Overs, 5 Unders each), and both of these defenses are in the top five in DVOA, per Football Outsiders. It’s hard to envision Mason Rudolph and the Steelers putting up many points, especially without James Conner and possibly JuJu Smith-Schuster, who’s listed as questionable. The Under is the play.

The Steelers defense has been great since adding Minkah Fitzpatrick, and it's helped cover up that the Steelers offense is not playing well at all against defenses with a pulse. I don't think that changes against a Rams defense that actually ranks higher in DVOA and hasn't even had Jalen Ramsey all year. The Rams offense started slow but has played well in four of its last five, and the Rams are 6-0 ATS in the Eastern time zone under Sean McVay. Another reason it's a good spot for the Rams: Road favorites coming off a bye are 35-23 ATS since 2011 and 15-5 in their last 20.

This is a matchup of Top-5 defenses. Back the Under to hit for the seventh time in the Rams' last nine road games.

The Rams' top two competitors, the 49ers and Seahawks, are playing each other this week, so LA knows it can gain ground. Pittsburgh's defense is playing well, but the Rams are getting healthy and starting to resemble last year's NFC champions. Picking up Jalen Ramsey really helped their defense. For Pittsburgh, this is not a winnable game if the Rams come to play.

I can understand some hesitation for this game because of the Steelers' defense, which has been resembling its old self recently. However, what should ease people's minds is that Los Angeles' defense should be able to feast on quarterback Mason Rudolph, who has been flat-out unimpressive in his starts this season. Pittsburgh's defense will be game, but because of its offense, the Rams will have multiple opportunities to put up points.