The Arizona Cardinals were just eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Carolina Panthers in Week 16. However, they would still love to play spoiler against the Los Angeles Rams, who are looking to clinch a playoff berth and possibly even the NFC West when they collide on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.
My early Cardinals vs. Rams predictions and NFL picks for Saturday, December 28 believe the Cardinals will keep this divisional game close.
Cardinals vs Rams predictions
Early spread lean
Cardinals +6 (-110 at BetMGM)
My analysis
These two teams met back in Week 2 in Glendale and the Arizona Cardinals pulled off a dominating 41-10 victory at home. However, Puka Nacua missed the entire game and Cooper Kupp also got injured in that contest. Both teams have been going in very different directions over the past few weeks.
The Cardinals have lost four of their past five games since their bye week, including two pivotal division games. The Los Angeles Rams have won four straight and eight of their last 10 since their bye week. They went from 1-4 to in the driver’s seat to take the NFC West.
However, the Cardinals have a decent advantage in one aspect of the game, and that is their ability to use the run game against a porous rush defense. The Cardinals rank fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and second in rushing yards per attempt.
James Conner is a big part of those numbers, but so is Kyler Murray’s ability to scramble and run for big plays. Meanwhile, the Rams have the 25th-ranked run defense in yards per game and 22nd in yards per attempt. In their Week 2 matchup, the Cardinals ran for 231 yards on 40 rush attempts.
Conner led the backfield with 122 yards on 21 carries, but Murray also had 59 yards on five carries and Emari Demarcado broke out a 41-yard run in relief of Conner. The Rams run defense has been a lot better in each of the past two weeks, but that includes a San Francisco team that was without each of their top two rushers and a New York Jets team that is in complete shambles offensively.
The Cardinals should be able to control time of possession and get things going on the ground enough to keep this game close. The Rams offense has only averaged 21.9 points per game this season and would be much lower if not for their 44-point performance three weeks ago against the Bills. I really like the Cardinals here to possibly play spoiler.
Early Over/Under lean
Under 49 (-120 at BetMGM)
My analysis
This is a big number considering the Cardinals just played the Carolina Panthers, who have the worst defense in the NFL, and that number was only 47. Obviously, they went way Over that number, but this is an overreaction to that game.
The Rams have gone Under similar totals in three of their past four games. All three of those games were way Under the total with totals of 35, 18, and 28 points. L.A. has focused more on their defense and establishing the run to get these wins recently.
As I mentioned, the Cardinals are going to be able to establish the run just fine on their end. With both teams chewing a lot of clock, this total is just way too high and will rely only efficient drives for touchdowns or quick turnovers to hit the Over. I like the Under quite a bit.
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Cardinals vs Rams live odds
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