The NFL’s third-leading passer, Carson Palmer (3,337 yards, 27 TDs), will be on display when the Arizona Cardinals (9-2) play the St. Louis Rams (4-7). The game starts at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec 6 and can be seen on FOX.
The Rams and Cardinals last met in Week 4, when St. Louis got past Arizona 24-22. Tavon Austin had an outstanding performance in that game, totaling six catches for 96 yards and two TDs. Todd Gurley had a big game as well, totaling 146 yards on 19 attempts. Calais Campbell led the Arizona defense, registering 10 tackles. Carson Palmer had a big day as well, contributing 352 yards and a TD through the air.
Arizona is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 44 points.
Heading into Week 13 of league action, the Rams are 4-7 Straight Up (SU) and 4-6-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last five games, the Rams have records of 1-4 SU and 1-3-1 ATS. The Rams have a strong home passing game with an average of 12.0 yards per pass, good enough for fifth in the league. As for the St. Louis defense, there are important areas to keep an eye on. St. Louis has a suffocating run defense at home, allowing only 3.4 yards per rush. One of the keys to the game will be if the Rams can take advantage of the turnover-prone Cardinals, who rank 27th in the league in turnovers with two per road game.
Moving to the road team, the Cardinals have a record of 6-5 ATS and 9-2 SU. In the previous five games, Arizona has a record of 5-0 SU and 2-3 ATS. Hopefully St. Louis’s defense shows up ready to play. It will be matching up against a Cardinals offense that is gaining yardage at a higher rate as of late, averaging 415.2 total yards over its last five games. This week, the Cardinals will be tasked with shutting down St. Louis’s offense, which averages a meager 20.8 points per home game. The defensive backs for the Cardinals will be looking to shut down the weak passing attack of the Rams, which ranks last in the league with an average of 180.9 passing yards per game. The Rams need to recognize the importance of ball security against the turnover-minded Cardinals. The Arizona defense ranks fourth in the league in turnovers with 1.9 per game. The Cardinals could take advantage of St. Louis’s reputation as a slow starter on defense. The Rams are 29th in the NFL in first-quarter points allowed with 6.1. Don’t be surprised to see lots of calls against the Rams when they take the field. St. Louis is among the most penalized teams in the league, receiving an average of 8.1 penalties per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ari, ATS Winner – Ari, O/U – Under
Notes
St. Louis is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of St. Louis’s last 7 games.
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games.
St. Louis is 5-13 SU in its last 18 games when playing Arizona.
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Arizona.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of St. Louis’s last 15 games when playing Arizona.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games when playing Arizona.
St. Louis is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Arizona.
St. Louis is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Arizona.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 7 games when playing at home against Arizona.
Arizona is 8-0 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. St. Louis is 4-1 SU when leading after three quarters.
St. Louis is only 2-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 2-2 SU when losing the turnover battle.
When it comes to passing this year, Arizona is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its fourth-ranked passing attack will face the eighth-ranked pass defense of St. Louis, while its 10th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the bottom-ranked passing game of the Rams.
St. Louis has only allowed 18.4 points per game at home, which ranks it eighth in the league. Arizona, however, has scored 32.5 points per contest on the road (ranked first overall).
