Just in time to screw up any momentum both teams got from their victories last week, the Arizona Cardinals (3-3) face off against the Los Angeles Rams (4-2) at Twickenham Stadium in London.
You don’t have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn for this one. Your local FOX affiliate will be broadcasting this one for your viewing enjoyment at 1 p.m. EST. I have no idea what the time is in the UK. It might not even be Sunday technically. We live on a sphere traveling through the universe at 1.3 million miles per hour. It gets confusing.
The Game: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-3)
O/U: 45.5
The History
The Rams and Cardinals have been division opponents since the NFL re-aligned in 2002. They’ve faced off 77 times with Arizona holding a one game edge, 38-37-2.
The Cardinals and Rams both played in St. Louis for years. For the Rams, that spanned from 1996 to 2015. For the Cardinals, it was from 1960 to 1987.
In addition to sharing a city in their history, the Rams and Cardinals share a couple of recent Hall of Famers. Kurt Warner played quarterback for the Rams from 1998-2003 and for the Arizona Cardinals from 2005-2009. He took the Rams to the Super Bowl twice and won one. He led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl once. Cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams played for the Cardinals from 1991-2000 and then with the Rams from 2001-2004.
ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-3)
The Cardinals’ offense finally came to life last week with the addition to Adrian Peterson. Whether that had more to do with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive sieve or a rejuvenated Peterson will probably be determined this week. Peterson rushed 26 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns in his Cardinals debut.
With the pressure off, Palmer had his best game of the season. He completed 18 of 22 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Larry Fitzgerald continued his battle against Father Time, catching 10 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, the Cardinals have to be concerned with their inability to sack Ryan Fitzpatrick once Jameis Winston was knocked out of the game. Arizona managed just two sacks, total, and got only four stops in the backfield.
The Cardinals’ injury report is littered with questionable players. Karlos Dansby, Andre Ellington, Robert Nkemdiche, Olsen Pierre and Xavier Williams are all designated with the “Q,” but practiced this week. They should be at full strength in front of their English fans.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (4-2)
The Rams bounced back from a last second loss to the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago with a solid road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. Los Angeles used two special teams scores to take down the Jags and 116 yards on the ground from Todd Gurley II. Gurley, who some people thought was “done” after a lackluster 2016. He’s on pace for 1,389 yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 653 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Only Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is having a better season.
Jared Goff didn’t have to do too much last week but protect the ball. He finished 11 of 21 for 124 yards and one touchdown. Robert Woods led the receiving corps with five catches for 70 yards. Even though they only hooked up once, Goff looked at Sammy Watkins a lot last week and it wouldn’t surprise me to see that work come to fruition with some big plays Sunday in front of the Londoners.
Defensively, the Rams sacked Blake Bortles five times and got 10 tackles for a loss. Los Angeles has a history of eating Carson Palmer alive and has knocked him from games twice in recent seasons. After a slow start on defense, Wade Phillips seems to have found what works with the Rams. After Leonard Fournette burned the team with a 75 yard touchdown run on his first play from scrimmage, Los Angeles held him to 55 yards on 20 carries from then on out.
The Pick
As I said earlier, Palmer probably hates seeing the horns show up on his schedule. They’ve cost him games and even a season a few years ago. He’s just a sitting duck in the pocket for the Los Angeles pass rush. Rams 31, Cardinals 27
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 5-9
Against the spread: 5-9
Season
Straight up: 48-43
Against the spread: 43-48
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