Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona Prediction, NFC Wild Card Preview
Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona prediction, game preview, how to watch: NFC Wild Card Preview
Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona How To Watch
Date: Monday, January 17
Game Time: 8:15 ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
How To Watch: ESPN/ABC/ESPN+
Record: Arizona (11-6), Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
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Los Angeles Rams vs Arizona Wild Card Game Preview
Why Arizona Will Win the NFC Wild Card
Get Kyler Murray going.
He wasn’t going to run as much this year, he was banged up and not himself over the second half of the season, and … it’s playoff time. Turn it loose.
James Conner is hobbling, there’s no DeAndre Hopkins – although there’s some hope that he could return if the Cardinals go on a playoff run – and the top targets are just okay. However, if Murray is making plays on the move, and if he’s taking off and pressing the Ram second-level, everything changes.
The defense is going to show up.
It was good against the run in the Week 14 loss to the Rams, and it didn’t break too often after bending a bit in the 37-20 Week 5 win. It’s going to allow a few big runs, but it’ll hold up in the red zone.
It’ll give up passing yards – it’s good for allowing more than 200 per game – but again, it’s more about bending but not breaking, even if there were massive issues all the way around in the loss to Seattle in Week 18.
The Cardinals lost to LA the second time around after being -2 in turnover margin. they won the first time around when they were +2, and they’ve been relatively careful with the ball against everyone else.
Over the last seven games they give up those two turnovers to the Rams and just two in the other six games. Los Angeles has turned it over eight times in the last three games.
But …
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Why Los Angeles Rams Will Win the NFC Wild Card
Arizona is limping into the playoffs all the way around.
Everyone is hurting at this time of year, but the Cardinal skill parts are having real problems. Yeah, Kyler Murray should be able to explode and be Kyler Murray at times, but can the offense keep up if the Rams find a groove right away?
Matthew Stafford and the LA offense got past their midseason funk – even with the clunker in the Week 18 loss to San Francisco – and should be able to crank up a whole lot of big plays.
As good and as athletic as the Cardinal defense is, it allows way too many deep shots – it’s among the worst in the NFL in yards per average throw allowed – and this is where the stars need to shine.
All of a sudden, this is as deep and as good as LA has been all year at the skill spots – especially if Cam Akers is close to being Cam Akers again – and Arizona might not have many options.
It ran all over the Rams in the win early in the season, but that was mostly on a big dash by Chase Edmonds. The LA defensive front should be fine as long as it can keep Murray from being amazing on third downs with his legs.
Arizona converted 16-of-28 third down chances in the two games against the Rams. That can’t happen again.
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What’s Going To Happen, Who’s Going To Win the NFC Wild Card
To hammer this home way too hard, just how much do you believe in Kyler Murray?
The pressure is on the Los Angeles side. Arizona struggled over the last month of the season losing four of its last five games. Of course there’s pressure on the Cardinals, but the Rams are all in with the 2021-2022 team – it’s this year and next season, and then there’s a problem.
This is why Matthew Stafford was brought in. This is why all those stars on defense are here. This is a home playoff game in LA with the most talent the franchise has had yet in the Sean McVay era.
And Arizona will be a problem.
Murray will be great, the defense will bother Stafford and keep the Rams from ever getting comfortable, but the LA offense will start to poke through in the second half.
Murray won’t make a whole lot of mistakes, but he’ll have to press too much, and he just doesn’t have the guys around him like Stafford has to work with.
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Arizona vs Los Angeles Rams NFC Wild Card Prediction, Line
Los Angeles Rams 30, Arizona 24
Line: Los Angeles Rams -4, o/u: 50
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Must See Rating: 4.5
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