Arizona Cardinals-Los Angeles Rams: Pregame analysis of Week 5 game

Arizona Cardinals (1-4) at Los Angeles Rams (2-3)

Time/site: 1:25 p.m. MST, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.

TV: FOX. Radio: 98.7 FM, 106.7 FM in Spanish.

Last time they played: In Week 10 of last season, the Cardinals defeated the Rams 27-17 to improve to 4-6. It would be their last win of 2022. Tight end Zach Ertz tore an MCL and an ACL on his first and only catch of the day at SoFi Stadium, and didn't play again for the rest of the season. Colt McCoy, starting in place of the injured Kyler Murray (who had a hamstring problem before his season-ending knee injury weeks later), threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, James Conner rushed for two touchdowns and Budda Baker sealed the win with a late interception.

Series history: The Cardinals are 2-1 all-time against the Rams in Inglewood, with wins over LA on the road in each of the past two seasons. The Cardinals and Rams have played 88 times during the regular season, most recently as NFC West rivals, in a series that dates back to 1937. The Rams lead the overall series with a 48-40-2 record including two postseason games, and the Rams have won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall.

Coaching matchup

Arizona: First-year head coach Jonathan Gannon is off to a 1-4 start to his tenure. He spent three seasons (2009-2011) as a scout for the Rams when they played in St. Louis.

Los Angeles: Sean McVay is already in his seventh season at the helm, at just 37 years old. He has led the Rams to four playoff berths and two Super Bowl appearances in his first six seasons, winning Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium. McVay coached his 100th career regular season game on Sept. 17 and is 61-39. He has also led the Rams to five winning seasons with three NFC West titles.

Storylines

The Rams seem to be better than expected this season at 2-3 in what most feel is a retooling year for them. They will have Matthew Stafford at quarterback making his 12th career start against the Cardinals. The only active NFL quarterback to have faced Arizona more is Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos with 20 starts.

The Cardinals' Josh Dobbs makes his sixth consecutive start for Arizona and eighth career start overall. This is his first game against the Rams.

Ertz returns to the site of his major knee injury from last season, and he's healthy. He has 22 catches through five games.

Los Angeles will win if . . .

1. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua get open, catch balls and help their offense: Kupp is back from a hamstring injury and with his extensive "route tree," or ability to run many different routes effectively and cross up coverages, he will be hard to cover. Nacua, a rookie, leads the NFL with 46 receptions in five games, the most ever by a player in his first six career games. He also ranks second in receiving yards with 572.

2. The Rams can run the ball: LA is 22nd in the league in rushing offense at 94 yards per game. If Kyren Williams is effective on the ground, it opens up an already prolific passing game.

3. The Rams generate long drives and possessions on offense: It's been an issue for the Cardinals this season, getting off the field on third down and limiting explosive plays. The Rams have the players to generate those big plays.

Arizona will win if . . .

1. Josh Dobbs limits the turnovers to none: It's that and several other things from Dobbs, but playing mistake-free helps after issues with turnovers for him last week.

2. The "War Daddy" isn't allowed to dominate: The Rams pass rush hasn't been too effective with Donald drawing double and triple teams and his teammates not fully taking advantage of that. But Donald, whom Gannon called a "war daddy" on Friday, can make it a long day for Dobbs.

3. They find a way to get production in the run game without injured James Conner: Will it be Emari Demercado in his return to his hometown of Inglewood who gets the nod at the No. 1 running back, or will he share the load with at least one other teammate? Either way, the Cardinals need to have a competent rushing attack to help their offense.

They said it

"A really good quarterback. Yeah, that would be the first thing that jumps out of my mind. Off the tape, they’re good route runners and they’re reliable. They have really good hands, but a good scheme to get them the ball in space. They’re two really good players." - Gannon, on what makes the Rams' receivers so successful.

"Yeah, he’s a heck of a player, man. I’ve watched him from afar for a long time in the league. Being in the AFC, I haven’t crossed paths with the Rams so now obviously in the NFC it’s a little bit different playing him twice a year. He can wreck a game really fast. Crazy player. I remember watching videos of him while I was in Pittsburgh doing the indoor training with knives. He’s a dynamic player and has been a dynamic player in this league for a long time. As we’ve had to do throughout the year when we face dynamic players, we’re going to have to obviously recognize that talent across from us, have a plan and go out and execute it." - Dobbs, on accounting for Donald.

"Life in the NFL. Figure it out. - Gannon, on not having Baker and potentially Jalen Thompson able to play Sunday.

"I'm not sure there's many other teams in the league that are kind of running what they're running in some form or fashion," - Stafford, on the Cardinals' defense.

By the numbers

5.47 — Rushing average yards per carry for Arizona in 2023 (716 yards on 131 carries). Only the Miami Dolphins (6.88) have a better rushing average than the Cardinals this season.

10 — Runs of 20-plus yards for the Cardinals in 2023. That is tied with Miami for the most in the NFL this season and already surpassed Arizona's total from all of 2022 (9).2 — Runs of 40-plus yards for wide receiver Rondale Moore in the last three games (45 and 41 yards). Moore is the first receiver in franchise history to have multiple runs of 40-plus yards in his career.

13 — Sacks for the Cardinals defense in 2023. Only seven teams have more.

9 — Cardinals players who have at least one sack this season. Only Baltimore and Seattle (each with 10) have more players with one or more sacks.

28 — Tackles for loss for the Cardinals defense this season. That is tied for the fifth most in the NFL in 2023.

255 — Receiving yards for wide receiver Michael Wilson in 2023. That is tied with Indianapolis wide receiver Josh Downs for fifth among all NFL rookies this season.

90.8 — Passer rating for Dobbs in five starts this season. He has completed 102 of 155 pass attempts (65.8%) for 980 yards and 6 touchdowns.

48 — Tackles for Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White in 2023, a team-high. White joins Karlos Dansby (2013) as the only Cardinals players to have 45 or more tackles, a sack and an interception through the first five games of a season.

Report: Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill made workplace uncomfortable

Who will win and why

Rams 26, Cardinals 16: The Rams have played a tough first five games and came out of that stretch with two wins, and are clearly better than expected despite, like the Cardinals, being in some form of a retooling mode. The Cardinals really struggled in the secondary to stop the Bengals' wide receivers, now they must find a way to limit two more talented receivers in Kupp and Nacua. LA isn't likely a playoff team, but at home, they prove to be too much for the Cardinals.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals-Los Angeles Rams NFL Week 6 game preview, prediction