Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET | ESPN/ABC
Matchup rating: 83.3 |
Spread: LAR -4 (49.5)
What to watch for: The Rams and Cardinals split the regular-season series, each winning on the road. The Cardinals dominated in Week 4 with a 37-20 win, enabled by a flawless
Kyler Murray performance and their defense forcing two turnovers that were converted into touchdowns. In Week 14, Rams defensive tackle
Aaron Donald wreaked havoc for Murray when he turned in a three-sack outing. What can be expected in the rubber match? The Cardinals played their best on the road (8-1), while the Rams are coming off a disheartening loss in the regular-season finale and are intent on proving they can not only move on but also remain a Super Bowl-caliber team. Watch for Murray and
Matthew Stafford to enter a quarterback duel, with the one who produces the fewest errors advancing to the divisional round.
-- Lindsey Thiry
Bold prediction: All signs point to Arizona defensive lineman
J.J. Watt returning from shoulder surgery for Monday night's game, and with him will come a major boost for the Cardinals' defense. He will get two sacks and a fumble recovery to spark the Cardinals into the divisional round with another road win. Arizona's defense was generating pressure on 31% of opponent dropbacks before Watt's Week 7 injury, but that dropped to 23% without him over the rest of the regular season.
-- Josh Weinfuss
Stat to know: Rams running back
Sony Michel has 554 rushing yards since Week 12, the third-most in the NFL over that span behind
Rashaad Penny and
Jonathan Taylor. But on the other sideline, Cardinals running back
James Conner scored 18 touchdowns this season, the NFL's third-most this season.
Bowen's game-plan key: Can Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury use play designs to get receiver
Christian Kirk loose on the deep corners and crossers? Kirk had three receptions for 86 yards in the last meeting with the L.A. defense.
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Injuries: Cardinals |
Rams
What to know for officiating: Clay Martin will be appearing in his second playoff game as a referee, and his regular-season crew ranked No. 13 in the NFL with an average of 12.9 flags thrown per game. The Rams finished the season with the NFL's third-fewest flags (92), while the Cardinals ranked No. 24 with 120. Offensive lineman
Josh Jones led the Cardinals will 12 total flags, including five false starts and four holds.
-- Kevin Seifert
Betting nugget: Four of the past five meetings between these two teams have gone over the total.
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Weinfuss' pick: Cardinals 34, Rams 24
Thiry's pick: Rams 28, Cardinals 21
FPI prediction: LAR, 58.0% (by an average of 2.7 points)
What to watch for in every wild-card game. Bold predictions. Key stats to know. Matchups to watch. And, of course, final score picks. It's all here for the first six playoff games.
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