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TV Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 6, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Stadium: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.
Line: Arizona(-5.5)
Week 13 features one of the NFL‘s most underrated rivalries when the St. Louis Rams (4-7) host the Arizona Cardinals (9-2). The two teams met in Week 4 with the Rams upsetting the Cardinals at home 24-22. They are now in very different spots as the Cardinals are coming off of five straight wins and the Rams are losers of four straight. All of that won’t matter on Sunday, however, as three of the last five meetings have been decided by less than seven points.
Running back Todd Gurley ran wild for 146 rushing yards the last time these two teams met, including over 100 yards in the fourth quarter alone. The Rams’ defense also held the Cardinals’ offense to five field goals. The previous meeting in St. Louis last year was a 12-6 decision won by Arizona.
These are two teams that don’t like each other in the slightest and for good reason. The Rams have inflicted season-ending injuries to Carson Palmer, Tyrann Mathieu and Drew Stanton the last three times the teams have met. Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has gone out publicly firing shots at the Rams.
The Rams come in losers of four straight and have failed to score more than 20 points in any of those games. A lot has changed since 4-3 and in control of a NFC playoff spot just one month ago. However, the Rams are 3-0 in the NFC West this season and always show up when it comes to division games.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, have won five straight games including a division game last week against the San Francisco 49ers. This is a team that is in prime position to get a first-round bye in the playoffs with a healthy Palmer who is having an MVP-like season. Running back Chris Johnson is done for the year meaning rookie David Johnson will see the majority of the carries.
The Rams aren’t going to catch the Cardinals off guard in this one. There is no doubt Arians will have his team ready to go this week. This is going to be a defensive matchup, but the difference in this game is going to come down to the two offenses. At some point the Cardinals are going to make plays while the Rams’ offense continues to struggle. This will be a close game, but the Cardinals will pull away late.
Prediction: Cardinals 27, Rams 10
