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They just got handily beaten by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, and now, the Los Angeles Rams (6-5) will head to State Farm Stadium to take on Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals (3-7-1) on Sunday.
The Cardinals have lost four in a row, and they’re coming off their bye week, so head coach Kliff Kingsbury has had extra time to prepare for Sean McVay and company. Who has the edge in this one? Here’s a breakdown of the game followed by trends and our final prediction.
Rams
The Rams are coming off an anemic seven point effort against the Ravens, and they have scored 30+ points in just three games this season. Quarterback Jared Goff has been flat out bad, with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and he leads an offense that is averaging just over 22 points per contest.
Sean McVay will likely do what he did to defeat the Chicago Bears two weeks ago: he will lean on Todd Gurley more. Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs will be coming after Goff, and Gurley should be a nice crutch for him to lean on. The Cardinals have the second-worst defense in the league, and they’re allowing 28.8 points and a whopping 297.5 yards receiving a game, so look for Gurley to help in the passing game, as well.
Cardinals
Arizona has not beaten a team with a winning record all season. Their three victories have come against the Bengals, the Falcons, and the Giants, who have won a combined five games. Starting quarterback Kyler Murray is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury, but he was a full participant in practice, and all signs point to him playing.
Murray is leading an offense that is averaging 22.5 points and 343.9 total yards a game. The Cardinals also have several weapons in their backfield with Kenyan Drake, David Johnson, and Chase Edmonds, who, like Murray, is also questionable–but likely to play. Arizona will be facing a Rams defense that is allowing 22.1 points and over 338 total yards per contest.
This Rams defense is also coming off a game in which they surrendered 45 points to the Ravens, but Lamar Jackson won’t be playing in this game. Aaron Donald this Rams ‘D’ will very likely be looking for a bit of redemption after their abysmal showing last week.
Trends, Predictions, & Pick
Spread: Cardinals +2.5
Over/Under: 47.5 points
Odds Shark currently have the Rams winning this game by a projected score of 24.2-21.8, with the Cardinals covering the spread and the point total going under 47.5 points.
*The following trends relevant to this game are all courtesy of Odds Shark.
- The Rams are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Rams’ last 6 games.
- The Rams are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against Arizona.
- The Rams are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against Arizona.
- Arizona is 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona’s last 7 games.
- Arizona is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona’s last 7 games against LA Rams.
We’re with Odds Shark on one thing: the Rams should eke out a win here. Aaron Donald should make Kyler Murray work twice as hard, and Todd Gurley and this Rams offense will have loads of opportunities against this Cardinals defense. Still, Murray will have his chances too, and we like the total score going over, with the Rams barely covering the spread.
Final Prediction: Rams 27, Cardinals 24
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Rams vs Cardinals: Betting Line, Odds & Prediction