St. Louis at New York

The Rams were under .500 again last season finishing at 7-9, while the Giants were winners of 10 games. These teams both got off to a bad start last week, and tonight's game will feature each club looking for its first win in the season. Expect a hard-fought game since the loser drops to 0-2, virtually guaranteeing a spot on the couch in January. The Rams took a big step last year, eclipsing the number of wins they had combined in the prior three years (six). They went from being outscored in the 2009-10 season by 261 total points to just 39 last year, so this is a team on the rise. They not only won a pair of road games, but were outscored by 3, 2 and 1 point in three others, so they have become a tough out. The Giants on the otherhand started 6-2 last season, but have since been a below .500 team at 4-5. Just three of their last 11 games has resulted in a win by a TD or more. The Rams have gone from consistent losers, to consistent competitors and following an ATS loss they are now 8-2 ATS. The Giants have not been good of late in this role at 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 as a favorite of 3.5-10 points. Injuries to Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola are a concern, but New York has their own issues. Hakeem Nicks is banged up and on defense, Justin Tuck is hobbled and Osi Umenyiora is expected to again miss this game. That's not a good thing when your defense gave up 305 yards passing last week to Rex Grossman. Week two matchups of winless teams have seen road underdogs hit at a 69% clip including a ridiculuous 18-2-1 since 2004! Two thirds of the public is on the Giants here but I'm going the other way. I like St. Louis in this one.