The top two teams in the NFC West will square off on Sunday as the Arizona Cardinals (3-0) take on the Los Angeles Rams (3-0). The Rams will host this one at SoFi Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 4:05 pm ET.
The Cardinals come into Week 4 undefeated, but they haven’t always been pretty. Last week, against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, they trailed at halftime 13-7, before a strong third quarter propelled them to a 31-19 victory.
In the win, James Conner rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Kyler Murray threw for 316 yards, but did not have a passing touchdown and had one interception.
The Rams were impressive last week as they beat the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-24. Matthew Stafford continued his impressive start to his Rams’ tenure with 343 yards passing and a whopping four touchdowns.
The Rams are the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -220 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +184. The spread features Arizona +4.5 (-114), and the over/under for total points is 54.5.
More Odds
In what should be a very competitive NFC West, the Rams are the favorites to win the division at +115. Despite being undefeated, the Cardinals have the third-best odds of winning the division at +350.
In terms of the Super Bowl, the Rams have the third-best odds to win it all at +850. The Cardinals are +3400 to win Super Bowl LVI.
By The Numbers
Arizona has struggled mightily in recent years against the Rams. In fact, they are 0-8 in their last eight meetings. In that span, they are also 0-7-1 against the spread.
Los Angeles has been playing well lately. They are 5-1 in their last six games and, when playing at SoFi Stadium, they are 10-2 in their last 12 home games.
Arizona Trying To Snap The Streak
The Arizona Cardinals have frankly been owned by the Rams in recent years as they have lost eight straight games against their division rivals. Quarterback Kyler Murray is trying to stop that streak Sunday.
On the season, Murray has been solid throwing for 1,005 yards and seven touchdowns, although he has been intercepted four times. Murray has also rushed for 70 yards and another three scores.
Murray has spread the ball around very efficiently as there are six players with over 100 yards receiving. Tops is Christian Kirk, who has 239 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
On the ground, Chase Edmonds (135 yards rushing) and James Conner (122 yards rushing, two touchdowns) have split the carries.
Defensively, the Cardinals rank 11th in scoring defense allowing opponents just 21.7 points per game.
Los Angeles Out To Prove They Are Cream Of Division
The NFC West may be the toughest division in all of football, but the Rams are out to prove they are the best.
Head coach Sean Mcvay has to be thrilled with the early returns from quarterback Matthew Stafford. Acquired in a trade with Detroit in the offseason, Stafford has thrown for 942 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception through three games.
Like Murray, he has spread the love around as five different players have over 100 yards, but Cooper Kupp has easily been Stafford’s favorite target.
To date, Kupp has more than twice the number of receptions than anyone else on the team with 25. He also has 367 yards receiving and five touchdowns to date.
The Rams defense is also strong as they rank ninth in scoring defense allowing opponents just 20.7 points per game. Despite keeping the points low, they do rank 20th in total defense as they are allowing opponents an average of 374 total yards.
Rams Likely Win, But Can They Cover?
Unfortunately for Arizona fans, the streak probably makes it to nine on Sunday as the Rams are just that good on both sides of the ball.
That is not to say that the Cardinals don’t have a chance, though. If they can limit the Rams passing game, Kyler Murray has a chance to lead the offense to a pivotal road win.
At the end of the day, the Rams probably pull out a win, but this one could be close throughout. For that reason, take L.A. straight up, but don’t be shy about taking Arizona and the 4.5 points on the spread.
