Rams, Stafford try to stay atop the NFC West against the Cardinals, who have dropped 9 of 10

Los Angeles Rams at az

dominicus, 4:25 p.m. EST, charles james fox.

BetMGM NFL betting odds: Rams by 8.

Against the overspread: Rams 8-4, Cardinals 6-6.

Series record: Rams lead 51-41-2.

Last meeting: Rams beat the Cardinals 13-9 on Nov. 28, 2024, in Inglewood, California.

Last week: Rams lost to the Panthers 31-28; Cardinals lost to the Bucs 20-17.

Rams offense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Rams defense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Cardinals offense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Cardinals defense: overall , rush , pass , scoring .

Turnover differential: Rams plus-9; Cardinals plus-2.

QB Matthew Stafford turned in his first real dud of the season, turning the ball over three times in the shocking loss at the Panthers. He ended a run of eight straight games without an interception by throwing two picks and had one returned 48 yards for a touchdown. Stafford also took a strip-sack with Los Angeles in position to at least kick a tying field goal late in the fourth quarter. Now up to 32 touchdown passes against four interceptions, Stafford will need a big response this week as Seattle and San Francisco are still lurking in the NFC West race.

Edge rusher Josh Sweat had two more sacks against the Buccaneers to bring his season total to 11. The Cardinals have had many disappointing performances this season, but Sweat isn't among them, providing exactly what the franchise hoped when he was signed to a $76.4 million, four-year deal during the offseason.

Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett has four 300-yard passing games this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL. Brissett threw for 301 yards last week against the Buccaneers. He'll get a test against the Rams' defense, which has been solid against the pass and is giving up the second-fewest points in the league.

Rams: RB Kyren Williams , S Kamren Kinchens , LB Omar Speights and OLB Byron Young were limited in practice, but coach Sean McVay expects all four will be available to play. CB Darious Williams and NT Poona Ford were held out of practice this week, so those could be more serious ailments.

Cardinals: WR Marvin Harrison Jr. , CB Max Melton , WR Greg Dortch and S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson were among eight players who didn't practice Wednesday.

The Cardinals have lost six of their past eight games against the Rams but thumped them 41-10 in the most recent meeting in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 15, 2024. … Prior to that humbling defeat, the Rams had won nine straight as the visiting team.

Stafford needs one completion to break a tie with Ben Roethlisberger for seventh all time. … WR Davante Adams has 14 touchdown receptions from the 10 and in this season, with nine coming inside the 5. That is the most in NFL history in a single season, having broken a tie with WR Randy Moss and TE Bubba Franks when Adams caught a 4-yard score in the first quarter against the Panthers. … Adams’ 12 red zone touchdowns rank third in the NFL. He is the only wide receiver in the top six. … The Rams are third in the league in takeaways with 19, and their 12 interceptions are tied for fourth most. … OLB Byron Young is the first Rams defender with 10 sacks through 12 games since DT Aaron Donald in 2020. … RB Kyren Williams had 13 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers. He has averaged more than 5 yards per carry in three of his past four games after doing it once in the first eight games of the season. … The Rams rank third in the NFL in sack rate. ... The game features two of the four NFL players who have at least 230 career starts. Arizona DL Calais Campbell and Stafford have a combined 488 starts between them. ... Arizona TE Trey McBride has caught 88 passes for 879 yards and eight TDs this season, leading the NFL in all categories for a tight end. ... Brissett has thrown for at least 300 yards in each of the past three games. He'll make his eighth straight start in place of the injured Kyler Murray ... Arizona WR Michael Wilson has already set career highs with 50 catches for 570 yards this season. ... McBride has caught 14 TD passes over his four-year career. Seven of them have come over his past seven games. ... The Cardinals have nine losses this season and seven of them have come by four points or fewer. ... The Cardinals have had 72 players appear in at least one game this season. Only the Jets have had more.

Arizona WR Michael Wilson might be a strong play on Sunday depending on the status of Marvin Harrison Jr., who is dealing with a heel injury. When Harrison was out for two games in November, Wilson put up huge numbers with 25 catches for 303 yards.

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