MNF: Rams vs Cardinals Game Thread

Monday Night Football, Week 14. Tonight the Los Angeles Rams visit the Arizona Cardinals.

The 8-4 Los Angeles Rams having lost three of their last four games after starting the season 7-1. The Rams defense has sprung a leak in recent weeks, giving up 28 or more points in three of the last four games after giving up 24 or fewer in all but one of their first eight games. In addition the Rams offense has turned the ball over seven times in the last four weeks after turning it over just seven times in the prior eight weeks. The Rams will look to turn things around tonight, but it won’t be easy. They’ll be facing perhaps the best team in the NFL.

The 10-2 Arizona Cardinals come into this game with the best record in the NFL. They have the #3 ranked scoring offense and the #4 ranked scoring defense in the NFL. The Cardinals are great at generating turnovers on defense and great at avoiding turnovers on offense. This is a deep, well balanced team with few weaknesses, led by one of the best and most dynamic quarterbacks in the league, Kyler Murray. The Cardinals’ one weakness has been their run defense, where they rank 29th in the NFL in yards per attempt. The only two teams to beat the Cardinals this year, the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers, both amassed more than 150 rushing yards against them. If you want to beat the Cardinals, run the ball often and well.

With the Cardinals boasting a two game lead on the Rams in the NFC West this game will not be for the division lead. Nonetheless, this is a crucial game for both teams’ playoff chances. For the Cardinals a win keeps them in the #1 seed in the NFC, and for the Rams, a loss would drop them perilously close to the last seed. This is how primetime football should be, with two excellent teams and a lot on the line.

It’s the Rams and the Cardinals in a showdown of NFC West titans on Monday Night Football.

Enjoy the game everybody.