Arizona Cardinals vs Los Angeles Rams Betting Preview

The Wild Card weekend ends with a battle of NFC West teams as the Arizona Cardinals (11-6) square off with the Los Angeles Rams (12-5) Monday night. The Rams will host this one at SoFi Stadium.

The Cardinals have struggled down the stretch, having lost four of their last five games. In Week 18, those struggles continued with a 38-30 loss to the lowly Seattle Seahawks at home.

In the loss, Kyler Murray threw for 240 yards and just a single touchdown. James Connor rushed for a touchdown, but the team couldn’t get much else going beyond that. They now have to face a Rams team that they lost to by a touchdown in Week 14.

The Rams had their five-game winning streak snapped in Week 18 as they dropped the home contest 27-24 to the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.

Matthew Stafford threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions in the loss. Tight end Tyler Higbee caught two of those touchdown passes.

The Rams are favored playing at home. They are -180 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +152. The spread features Arizona +3.5 (-112), and the over/under for total points is 49.5 (-110).

More Odds

The Rams currently have the sixth-best odds of winning Super Bowl LVI at +1000. The Cardinals are +2200 to win it all.

By The Numbers

Los Angeles was the slightly stronger team offensively during the regular season. They rank tied for seventh in scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game. The Cardinals rank 11th averaging 26.4 points (29.7 on the road).

Defensively, it is the Cardinals with the edge. They rank 11th in scoring defense, allowing 21.5 points per game (18.9 on the road). The Rams rank 15th allowing 21.9 points per game.

Cardinals Trying To Reset In Playoffs

After a dreadful end to the season, the Cardinals would love nothing more than to reset as they enter the playoffs and get back to the football they were playing during their 8-1 start to the season.

The offense is led under center by quarterback Kyler Murray. In 14 games this season, Murray threw for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns, and ten interceptions. He also rushed for 423 yards and another five scores.

Unfortunately, Murray will be without one of his best wide receivers with DeAndre Hopkins ruled out for this one. With Hopkins out, Murray will look to Christian Kirk (982 yards, five touchdowns) and A.J. Green (848 yards, three touchdowns) to be the main targets.

On the ground, James Conner leads the way for Arizona. He rushed for 752 yards and 15 touchdowns during the regular season. He also has 375 yards receiving with another three scores.

Stafford Out To Prove His Worth

When the Los Angeles Rams acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford in the offseason, expectations were to get to the Super Bowl, which the team will try to take the first step towards Monday night.

This season, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.

Without a doubt, Stafford’s favorite target has been Cooper Kupp. In 17 games, Kupp had 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. With Robert Woods out for the season, Van Jefferson (802 yards, six touchdowns) steps into the second receiver role.

Defensively, the team is led by Jordan Fuller (113 tackles), Aaron Donald (12.5 sacks), and the duo of Jalen Ramsey and Taylor Rapp (four interceptions apiece).

Take The Rams To Win And Cover

This NFC West matchup should be fascinating. Both of these teams won on the road in their two games with each other during the regular season, and the Cardinals have been especially dominant on the road this year (8-1).

While Arizona has been playing less than stellar football to end the year, Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford has had his own woes. After setting the world on fire for the first half of the season, he has thrown 11 interceptions in the last ten weeks and finished the season tied for the most in the NFL.

Still, it is just hard to overlook the struggles that Arizona has dealt with recently, and, aside from an upset over the Cowboys, they have not been impressive at all for over a month.

Playing a team for the third time means anything can happen, but the most value is in the Rams to win and cover at home.