NFL Best Bets for Cardinals vs Rams
We went a decent 3-2 this weekend in our plays for the NFL playoffs. The Cowboys no show and the absolute throttling of the Patriots by the Bills ruined the under. Either way, profit is profit and that's what we look for.
In the regular season, the Cardinals and Rams matched up twice, as all divisional opponents do. In both matchups, the home team lost the game. The most recent meeting came just about a month ago with the Rams beating the Cardinals by seven. This was at a time where the Cardinals were playing well and the Rams needed the rebound.
Since that game, the Rams have won four of their last five, dropping the last game of the season to the 49ers in overtime. The first game that head coach Sean McVay has lost after his team was winning at halftime - for whatever that nugget is worth. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are playing their worst football of the year. After winning 10 of their first 12 games, they looked like they might have the #1 seed in the NFC. Recently, they've lost for of their last five and don't even have a home game for the playoffs.
I cannot support the Cardinals in this game, unfortunately. I don't have faith in Matthew Stafford playing in just his fourth ever playoff game. But, the Cardinals just haven't looked great and so it is tough to support them. My strong lean is towards the Rams at -3 (buying the half point in this case makes sense to me. I like the Rams to win this game - they have the better defense, and better coach. I think the offenses match up pretty well. If I am the Rams, I try to make Murray beat me with his arm, rather than his legs. I just don't want to lose by the hook. I'd consider doing a moneyline parlay of the Rams and a basketball team (Grizzlies are a good option -104 in the parlay).
I expect that the Cardinals do everything they can to keep Cooper Kupp from the end zone. I'll live dangerously here and play under 103.5 yards from Kupp on this one. I will put smaller plays on Odell Beckham Jr. (+120, +800) and Van Jefferson (+210, +1200) to score a touchdown any time and first touchdown scorers - in the last five games, the Cardinals have allowed 13 wide receiver touchdowns. In comparison, they allowed just 14 to wide receivers in the first 12 games.