Week 15 of the NFL season begins on Thursday night featuring a pair of NFC West rivals as the Arizona Cardinals (10-3) visit the St. Louis Rams (6-7) for the rematch of a thrilling game five weeks ago in Glendale, Arizona.
The Rams want revenge from a disastrous 4th quarter in which they coughed up a late lead when Arizona hung 21 unanswered points in a span of four minutes. The Cardinals would love to reclaim sole possession of the best record in the NFC, and punch a ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Meanwhile, NFL fans simply want to watch a competitive game considering only three of 12 Thursday Night Football contests have ended in a one score game.
The recipe sets up for an absolute battle on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Rams vs Cardinals: Wild NFC West Meets Prime Time
Despite sporting a league-high 10 wins, Arizona finds themselves as a four-point underdog against the Rams, who enter under .500 but boast powerful wins at home against both Denver and Seattle.
Since the Week 10 game, St. Louis is 3-1, with their lone loss coming at San Diego thanks to a devastating goal line interception down three points with under a minute to play. But they rebounded in compelling fashion, posting two consecutive shutouts against Oakland and Washington while scoring an impressive 76 points. They are the first team in five years to record back-to-back shutouts, and the first Rams team to do so since 1945, then known as the Cleveland Rams.
Both teams will start a different quarterback for Round 2. Drew Stanton leads the charge for Arizona, replacing Carson Palmer, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the previous meeting. The Rams returned to veteran Shaun Hill in place of Austin Davis, who in nine games had nine interceptions and two lost fumbles, six of which were returned for defensive scores.
Arizona has lost three straight on the road while St. Louis has won three straight at the Edward Jones Dome.
WHY THE RAMS WILL WIN
Defensively, the Rams are hitting their stride. A defense littered with top draft choices has finally adapted to new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ play calling. In the last six games, they have 15 takeaways, 29 sacks, while only allowing six touchdowns from scrimmage.
The Cardinals have a -4 turnover ratio the last three games, and Drew Stanton seems ripe for a “Sack-City” beat down starring Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Aaron Donald, and William Hayes.
The Rams are getting great play from its secondary since the return of CB Trumaine Johnson. Johnson has three interceptions and a touchdown in six games played.
The trade deadline addition of former 1st round pick Mark Barron has bolstered a safety unit featuring T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod. These guys are absolutely punishing opposing wide receivers. Do yourself a favor and watch McLeod’s hit on Emmanuel Sanders.
The entire defense is playing incredibly fast, forcing turnovers and tackling hard.
The key offensively for St. Louis is not turning the football over. The Rams are 4-0 this season when the offense does not commit a turnover. The emergence of the versatile WR Tavon Austin has opened up plays downfield for Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey. The Rams like to put Austin in motion pre-snap with a lot of jet sweep looks to stretch the opposing defense horizontally.
Rookie Tre Mason has consecutive 100-yard rushing games at home, including a three-touchdown performance against Oakland two weeks ago. Despite not playing the first four games, Mason ranks second among all NFL rookies with 628 rushing yards this season.
The Rams are hungry to keep its two game win streak alive. They feel very confident about their level of play right now, but remain keen on continuing the upward trend.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Rams rookie DT Aaron Donald against Cardinals C Ryan Sendlein
Donald, a first round pick, is a prime candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year with seven sacks, 21 pressures, and 10 quarterback hits to go along with 16 tackles for loss. Donald led all of NCAA with 28.5 tackles for loss last year at Pittsburgh.
Donald is an absolute monster, clogging the interior running lanes and forcing double-teams, thus leaving the Rams bevy of pass rushers in one-on-one battles on the edge. His stellar play is a huge reason the Rams have recorded more sacks (34) than any other team in the NFL the last eight weeks.
VERDICT
Arizona fans may recall a Thursday Night contest two years ago in which the Rams notched nine sacks. Public perception may feel the Rams are headed to Los Angeles, but expect a loud, fired-up crowd with the Rams recent dominance. St. Louis fans have long awaited the flight of this young, talented roster and finally feel its time for takeoff.
I expect the Rams to bottle up the Cardinals rushing attack and force them into obvious passing situations, allowing arguably the NFL’s best pass rush to expose Drew Stanton’s inexperience.
RAMS 27 CARDINALS 10
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