Much like the Patriots and Bills, the Rams and Cardinals are once again meeting up this weekend in an in-division playoff game.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN with their Monday Night Football crew on the call and will kickoff at 8:15pm.
Here are the odds for Monday night’s matchup, thanks to our friends at BetOnline.ag:
Wild Card Round Odds
Spread: Rams -4
Total: 49.5
Moneyline: Rams -190/Cardinals +165
Storylines
Arizona and LA split their in-season meetings, with the Cardinals taking the first one 37-20 and the Rams taking the second one 30-23.
For the past three seasons under Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals have started the season hot and ended it cold. They started 2021 8-1 and held the NFC’s one-seed for a majority of the first half of the season, but have gone 3-6 down the stretch and look lost.
Star quarterback Kyler Murray was hurt for some of these games, and hasn’t looked the same since returning from injury. They’ll need him to mold back into for if they want a chance at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
The Rams are the NFL’s super team, but haven’t fully performed like it this season. Though they have stars like Odell Beckham Jr., Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, and Cooper Kupp, they haven’t been able to gel like we would expect. Stafford was second in the league in passing touchdowns (41) and third in yards (4,886) – but he also threw the most interceptions (17).
Cooper Kupp broke Calvin Johnson’s record for most receiving yards in a single season (though he did it with an extra game), and has become Stafford’s go-to guy. Here’s what I wrote about Kupp in my 2021-2022 NFL MVP Rankings:
The relationship Kupp has built with newcomer Matt Stafford this season has been nothing short of sensational. Kupp leads the NFL in yards (1,829), catches (138), and touchdown receptions (15) this season, and is on his way to breaking Calvin Johnson’s record for most receiving yards in a season. He also broke the Rams franchise record for most receiving yards in a season.
To be fair to Calvin Johnson, Kupp has an extra game to do it, but that shouldn’t take away from the dominant season that he’s had. He’s on pace to finish just shy of 2,000 yards receiving, and has been the ultimate security blanket for Stafford.
I wonder where the Rams would be this season without Cooper Kupp. Needless to say, both of these teams have a lot to prove this weekend.
Prediction/Pick
The Rams were my preseason pick to win the Super Bowl (as I’ve mentioned many times before), so I have to ride with it. I’m a fan of Kliff and Kyler, but they need to show me more late in the season before I could ever back them in a playoff game.
Matt Stafford is going to show out this weekend and prove why the Rams spent all that capital to go get him. LA wins and covers.
Prediction: Rams 31 – Cardinals 24
Side: Rams -4
Total: OVER 49.5
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