NFC Game Of The Week 

Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals

Rams: If there was ever a chance for them to get right, Sunday against the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars was the perfect opportunity to do so. Remember when they acquired Von Miller from the Denver Broncos? Everyone got excited and I even said I saw them trying to pull away from the crowd that is the NFC. Then, they signed Odell Beckham Jr. All is well, right? Not at all. Remember when Von said he went to bed 4-4 as a member of the Broncos then woke up 7-1 after being traded to the Rams? After he made those comments, the Rams hadn’t won a game. I know exactly what the problems were. The first was the offensive line. They were doing an awful job of keeping Matthew Stafford protected and on his feet. While that’s not his fault, he was also struggling and wasn’t looking to be the MVP candidate he was at the beginning of the year. You can’t turn the football over and expect to win. Also, I see how important Robert Woods is to the Rams offense. He does many of the little things that go unnoticed. When he tore his ACL, the signing of Odell couldn’t have happened at a better time. The Rams are still in the hunt for the postseason even after a mid-season slump. On Monday night, they’ll travel to face the leaders in the NFC West.

Cardinals: They became the first team to win ten games this season with their win over the Chicago Bears. Though they may have the best record in the NFL, not many are talking about them too much. Let’s look back at their season. In week one, they defeated the Tennessee Titans and not only beat them but played their own game better than them which was being physical. Next, they cooled down a then-steaking Rams team and two weeks after that, they go into Cleveland and beat the Browns (which isn’t difficult to do this year). All those games I listed all have one thing in common. Those were all road victories. This year, they’ve been perfect on the road in 2021. If the playoffs were to start today, the Arizona Cardinals would have the number one seed in the conference. That’s how good they’ve been all year. On Sunday in Chicago, Kyler Murray came back and didn’t appear to miss a beat. I also felt they played the best defense out of any other team in the league on Sunday because they attacked Andy Dalton in a variety of ways. They would blitz, rush with four up without blitzing and they would sit people to crowd the line of scrimmage and drop guys back. Arizona finished that game with four interceptions. Monday night, they return home for a huge game.

Rams X-Factor: Leonard Floyd– Going to L.A. was the best thing to happen to him. When you play with a star of Aaron Donald’s caliber, you get many single paths because he commands so much attention. When you also play with three of the biggest names on defense, you’ll sometimes go under the radar. After a big year in 2020, Leonard has continued to play at a high level for this Rams defense. He’s everywhere for this Rams defense. His specialty is getting after the passer.

Cardinals X-Factor: Jordan Hicks– He’s the captain of this Arizona defense. The man in the middle to be exact! This is a middle linebacker that flies to the football. Besides stopping the run, Jordan can also rush the passer or impact the quarterback’s pocket to the point where it makes teams adjust and that particular defender is being double or triple teamed. I love the energy he brings to this Cardinals defense.

Final Thoughts: When they last met, the Cardinals went into SoFi and stunned the Rams. They even hung 37 points on them. This was something I didn’t see coming. Months later, here we are with one of the more important games of the week. The Rams offensive line must be better. Plain and simple. When they struggle, the entire team struggles it appears. Arizona will be tested by this L.A. offense. This isn’t the Bears. The Rams can actually move the ball down the field when they have the time. I want to see the Cardinals rely more on their running game. I feel they depend a little too much on Kyler. I can say the same about the Rams as well. They are at their best when they can establish the ground game. This will come down to the wire.

Prediction: Cardinals 28, Rams 21