Rams' defense, Cardinals' offense meet in NFC West showdown
LOS ANGELES RAMS (7-4) at ARIZONA (6-5)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox
OPENING LINE - Cardinals by 1
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Rams 6-5, Cardinals 5-6
SERIES RECORD - Rams lead 43-38-2.
LAST MEETING - Rams beat Cardinals 31-24, Dec. 29, 2019 at Los Angeles
LAST WEEK - Rams lost to 49ers 23-20; Cardinals lost to Patriots 20-17
AP PRO32 RANKING - Rams No. 8, Cardinals No. 14.
RAMS OFFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (9), PASS (11).
RAMS DEFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (4), PASS (2).
CARDINALS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (4), PASS (15).
CARDINALS DEFENSE - OVERALL (15), RUSH (22), PASS (13).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- LA has won six straight games in the series and five straight in Arizona. ... The Cardinals have the NFL's No. 2 offense in total yards while LA has the No. 2 defense. ... Rams coach Sean McVay is 6-0 against the Cards, beating three different coaches two times apiece. LA has outscored Arizona 195-56 in McVay's tenure. ... One more win will guarantee four straight non-losing seasons for the Rams franchise for the first time since the Eric Dickerson era of the mid-1980s in Anaheim. ... The Rams' defense is tops in the league with just 17.0 points allowed per game, and second with 297.0 yards allowed per game. ... LA's defense also leads the league with 32 three-and-outs forced this season and an NFL-low 11 touchdown passes allowed. ... The Rams' opponents are averaging an NFL-low 4.4 points per game in the second half. LA has allowed only two teams to score touchdowns after halftime this season. ... CB Jalen Ramsey is expected to be healthy for his showdown with DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald after the $105 million cornerback was limited by a hip injury in last week's loss to San Francisco. ... Rams QB Jared Goff has 10 turnovers in his last four games, including four lost fumbles. His mistakes earned a rare public rebuke from McVay after three turnovers against the Niners. ... Goff has only four turnovers in seven career games against the Cardinals, who have sacked him 15 times, more than any other opponent. ... WR Cooper Kupp has at least 11 catches and 110 yards receiving in the Rams' last two road games. ... DT Aaron Donald took the NFL sacks lead with his 10th last weekend. The perennial All-Pro has eight sacks and 10 tackles for loss in six career games at Arizona. ... LB Troy Reeder will play extensively again after he stepped in for injured Micah Kiser and made a career-high 15 tackles last week. ... PK Matt Gay didn't miss a kick last week, giving the Rams just their second game of the season without a missed extra point or field goal. ... Arizona has lost three of its past four games. The only win came on a miraculous throw-and-catch from QB Kyler Murray to WR DeAndre Hopkins with two seconds left against Buffalo. ... The Cardinals last five games have been decided by seven points or less, including four that were by three points or less. ... Arizona CB Patrick Peterson has seven INTs and three TDs against the Rams, which are both the most against any opponent in his career. ... Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake has 18 rushing TDs in 15 games with the Cardinals since being traded from Miami in the middle of last season. ... Arizona rookie LB Isaiah Simmons has 25 tackles over his past five games and has a sack in each of the past two. ... Cardinals K Zane Gonzalez will try to bounce back after a 45-yard FG miss that would have put Arizona ahead in the final minutes against New England. Instead, he missed and the Patriots drove to Nick Folk's 50-yard FG for the win. ... Fantasy tip: Don't be afraid to play LA's defense against the Cardinals. Arizona hasn't looked quite as spectacular on offense lately, averaging 308 total yards over the past two games.
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