ARIZONA CARDINALS (7-8) at RAMS (9-6)
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: NFL Network/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 226, 225
Line: Rams by 6.5
Notable injury designations
Cardinals: OUT: S Joey Blount (ribs), CB Elijah Jones (ankle), K Matt Prater (knee); QUESTIONABLE: RB Trey Benson (ankle), RB James Conner (knee), OL Evan Brown (neck), LB Baron Browning (neck).
Rams: QUESTIONABLE: RT Rob Havenstein (shoulder).
What’s at stake? The Rams can’t clinch the NFC West title outright with a win over the Cardinals, but a win would make it difficult for the second-place Seahawks (9-7) to steal away the division even with a head-to-head win over the Rams in Week 18. If the Rams win Week 17 and lose to Seattle in Week 18, the Seahawks would still need 12 out of 15 results over the last two weeks of the season to go their way to beat the Rams in the strength-of-record tiebreaker that the NFC West would come down to in that scenario.
Who’s better? Forget the Rams’ 41-10 loss to Arizona in Week 2; teams evolve over the course of a season, and the Rams are very much on an upward trajectory while the Cardinals’ once-soaring season has had a crash landing. It’s especially true when you look at how healthy the Rams are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, while the Cardinals just placed their two starting offensive tackles on injured reserve.
Matchup to watch: Arizona QB Kyler Murray vs. Rams OLB Jared Verse. We know Verse is going to beat his blocks Saturday; he had no trouble getting to Murray in Week 2, and that was with a healthy Cardinals line. But Verse had three missed tackles and no sacks in that game as Murray was able to escape, extend plays and usually find Marvin Harrison Jr. for a big gain. Verse will have to get Murray to the ground to get the Rams’ defense off the field.
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Rams win if: They hold the Cardinals to less than 100 yards rushing and a 30% conversion rate or lower on third downs. … They average 4.5 yards per carry. … They convert red-zone opportunities into touchdowns at a 60% rate or better.
Fantasy sleeper: WR Demarcus Robinson. The veteran hasn’t recorded a catch in his last three games, but he was one of the few Rams to have success against the Cardinals in Week 2 with two catches for 50 yards, including a 42-yarder. If he’s able to get open downfield, watch for QB Matthew Stafford to rekindle the connection.
Prediction: Rams 35, Cardinals 17. Beat reporter’s record: 11-4 for the season; 10-5 against the spread.