Cardinals Vs Rams NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

Tonight is the last Monday night football game of the season and it is the last game of the Wild Card weekend. We have an intriguing NFC matchup between the fifth seed Arizona Cardinals going up against the fourth seed Los Angeles Rams. The NFC West rivalry is going to be a fantastic way to end the NFL Wild Card weekend. Both teams won a matchup on the road this season against one another. Arizona have struggled down the stretch this season as they have won one out of their last five. The Rams won the division while winning four out of their last five games to end the regular season. With that being said here is my preview for this NFC Wild Card matchup.

Arizona

The Arizona Cardinals started the season off so well. They won eight out of their first nine games, but they ended up winning three out of their last eight games. This offense has taken a step back as of late, but they are still a formidable offense. They rank 6th in total yards per game, 10th in both rushing and passing yards per game and 11th in points per game. Kyler Murray has thrown for 3,787 passing yards to go along with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Murray didn’t use his legs a ton this season as he had a career low in rushing yards this season.

However, the Cardinals have a great running duo in James Conner and Chase Edmonds. Conner had fifteen rushing touchdowns on the season and Edmonds has been working his way back since his injury. The rushing offense was big time in their win at Los Angeles earlier this season and will need to be huge in order for Arizona’s offense to get the job done.

Defensively, this team looks like they are going to get J.J. Watt back in this matchup. Arizona gives up 21.5 points per game and is ranked top ten in total yards allowed per game and passing yards per game as well. Their front seven is solid and they will need to get a ton of pressure on Stafford. Look for Arizona to have to stop the run effectively in order to win this game.

Los Angeles 

The Los Angeles Rams offense is one of the best offenses in the league. This offense is led by Matthew Stafford who threw for 4,886 passing yards to go along with 41 passing touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Stafford was essential to the Rams offense however, it was Cooper Kupp that took a bunch of the headlines this season. Kupp had 145 receptions to go along with 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. It was one of the best seasons ever for a wide receiver and he put up the second most receiving yards in a single season. The Rams rank 9th in total yards of offense per game, 5th in passing yards per game and tied for 7th in points per game. They are going to need Stafford on top of his game in order to be winning this matchup.

Defensively, this Rams defense is fantastic against the run. They give up a little over 100 rushing yards per game and a little bit under 22 points per game. With this defense going up against the Cardinals offense it creates a fun matchup for the finale of Wild Card weekend. Look for Aaron Donald and company to be a force to be reckoned with in this matchup.

Prediction: 

The Rams are a 3.5 point favorite with the over/under set at 48.5. My lean here is the over as in both of these meetings in this season the over has hit. I am a little worried about the defenses stepping up big time in this matchup. So I will stay away from the total and look at the spread. My official play is Arizona +3.5. I think the Cardinals easily cover in this one. One thing I live by late in the season is that you can take Stafford out of Detroit, but you can’t take the Detroit out of Stafford. Take the points in this matchup.

-Chris Jones (@cjoneswho1212)

Featured Image (latimes.com)

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