Wham, bam, thank you Cam

We have no doubt that NFL schedule makers thought they had a late-season "Monday Night Football" gem when they gave us the Rams and Packers in Week 15. We won't fault them for that. These two certainly seemed set to be competitive once again. Unfortunately, neither team's season has gone as planned, and we're left with a relative dud of a matchup in terms of postseason impact. That's what betting is for.

Props to us for finding two plays

We don't want anything to do with picking a winner in this game. Our gut says the Packers cruise, but you may remember we thought that last Thursday about the Raiders as well against the Rams. Instead of the game's final outcome, we have a pair of players worth targeting in the prop market.

Cam Akers

The Rams starting running back has a modest rushing yards line of 55.5 today. The Packers have had a clear defensive vulnerability on the ground this season: a starting running back has exceeded 56 yards in every game against Green Bay since way back on Sept. 25. 

On the year, the Packers have allowed 154.8 rushing yards per game, the second-highest mark in the league. Akers has taken on more work for Los Angeles of late, carrying the ball 29 times in his past two games. That seems to us like trustworthy volume, and his line feels like a discount given how RBs have had success against the Packers.

Here's a look at how running backs have fared against the Packers recently, with their last game shown first:

• David Montgomery: 61 yards
• Miles Sanders: 143 yards
• Derrick Henry: 87 yards
• Tony Pollard: 115 yards
• Jamaal Williams: 81 yards
• Devin Singletary: 67 yards
• Brian Robinson: 73 yards
• Antonio Gibson: 59 yards
• Breece Hall: 116 yards
• Saquon Barkley: 70 yards
• Rhamondre Stevenson: 66 yards
• Damien Harris: 86 yards

Every back you see here has crossed Akers' line tonight, and eight of the 12 have gone for 70+. Baker Mayfield is still acclimating to the Los Angeles offense, and we'd expect another heavy dose of Cam Akers on the ground. We have a few wagers we'd like to take tonight off this belief.

• Cam Akers 60+ rushing yards (+106 FD)
• Akers 70+ rushing yards (+178 FD)
• Akers 80+ rushing yards (+270 FD)

Bring on the ground game!

Allen Lazard

We do see some value on the Green Bay offensive side as well. The Rams' secondary has had their leaks of late. Over the past three games, Los Angeles has allowed 12 passes of 20+ yards, nine of which have come from wide receivers.

Allen Lazard is expected back this evening and has been one of Aaron Rodgers' favorite targets when on the field. His long reception line is set at just 19.5, a number he's hit in seven of his last 10 games. It seems like a good time to load up a long catch prop, and Lazard has been far more consistent at hitting this prop than rookie Christian Watson.

Betting: Allen Lazard over 19.5 longest reception (-110 DK)

We hope the two looks here help you enjoy the game a bit more. Good luck!

In the news ...

Argentina wins the 2022 World Cup Final in epic fashion — That was an awesome match! Argentina went up 2-0 quickly, France tied it late with back-to-back goals, and then each team notched an extra time score before we went to PKs. Ultimately, it was Argentina's year, and Lionel Messi in what has been rumored to be his final appearance on the World Cup stage goes off in style. Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot as the tournament's leading scorer thanks to a hat trick in the finals.

Anthony Davis expected to miss at least a month — After suffering a right foot injury on Friday night, the Lakers are expected to be without Anthony Davis indefinitely. The injury comes at a time when the Lakers were seemingly righting the ship, winners of 10 of their last 16 games. Davis will once again be shelved, his third straight year with the Lakers that he's dealt with injury concerns. The Lakers now have the seventh-longest odds of winning the West at +4900.

Weekend results in the NFL shape the playoff race — Another busy week in the NFL gave us crazy moments all over the league. Minnesota pulled off the largest comeback victory in NFL history on Saturday, Buffalo handled Miami in a massive AFC East game, the Patriots seemingly lateraled their way out of the playoff race, and the Bengals stamped their ticket as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. As it stands, Buffalo is the favorite to win the Super Bowl at +350, followed by the Eagles at +430.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll