The Rams will travel to Arizona for a shootout in the desert for their week 13 matchup. The Cardinals and Rams are facing off for the first time this year; they will see each other again in the last week of the season in L.A.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are now 6-5 after a huge letdown on Monday night football where they lost to the Ravens 45-6. Despite all the big names on the Rams defense, they hardly put up a fight against the Ravens offense.
Something to keep in mind for this game, while the Rams have done well against the run this season, they have aloud over 100 yards to three different running backs. All three of those backs were on a team with scrambling quarterbacks similar to Kyler Murray.
Leading the offense for the Rams has been quarterback Jared Goff. Goff is around the top of the league with 2,995 yards and eleven touchdowns, but he also has twelve interceptions and did not throw a touchdown pass in the entire month of November.
While his numbers are down, Todd Gurley still leads the team this year on the ground. Gurley has 547 rushing yards along with seven rushing touchdowns. Cooper Kupp bounced back from his injury last season in a big way with 67 receptions this season for 880 yards and five touchdowns.
The Rams are averaging 22.6 points per game while giving up 22.1 a game. They are also averaging 365 yards a game while giving up an average of 355 yards per game. They are almost even across the board, which leads to a lot of close games.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are 3-7-1 this season, still defining their identity as a team with a new head coach and quarterback at the controls. We have seen signs of light from Kyler Murray this season; the Cardinals are just waiting for him to get them in the win column consistently.
Kyler Murray has thrown for 2,703 yards this season along with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 418 yards and three rushing touchdowns. As I mentioned before, the Rams have struggled to stop scrambling quarterbacks this season, but this will be Murray’s first time seeing Aaron Donald in his short NFL career.
Cardinals veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been their leading receiver this season with 593 yards and three touchdowns off 55 receptions. While he has been great, he has been held under 50 yards per game over the Cardinal’s last three games.
Arizona is posting 22.5 points per game while allowing 28.8. They are also averaging 365 yards per game, but they are giving up 433. They will have to stop the Rams high powered offense this week, and the formula seems to be getting pressure on Jared Goff. If the Cardinals pass rush can get through the Rams line, they should have a good chance in this game.
What to expect
The Rams are a 3-point favorite in this game on the road, that sounds just about perfect to me. I believe Kyler will struggle with the Rams pass rush, and while it will be a close game, the Rams should be able to come away with a road victory in this one just based on talent alone. The over/under is set at 47 right now, and I think they will hit the over.
