The Arizona Cardinals (10-3) face the St. Louis Rams (6-7) on Thursday Night Football from St. Louis
The Arizona Cardinals will face NFC West division rival St. Louis Rams for the second time in 2014 on Thursday night. The two teams met last month on November 9th at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The Cards, trailing at one point 14-10, came back and won 31-14.
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The Rams had the Cardinals running game stopped. They struggled with the passing game too. This was the game the Cardinals lost quarterback Carson Palmer for the season. Palmer left the game behind when backup quarterback Drew Stanton stepped in an threw a touchdown pass to receiver John Brown. Then the defense took over and it was lights out for the Rams. It would mark the last game Rams quarterback Austin Davis would play in as they went back to Shaun Hill.
Game info:
When: Thursday December 11th, 6:25 p.m.
Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: NFL Network – Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color analyst)
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM – Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Ron Wolfley (color analyst), Paul Calvisi (sidelines); Sirius/XM 225 (Internet 800) – Cardinals feed; Sirius/XM 226 (Internet 828) – Rams feed
Keys to victory:
Cardinals offense – there is no sugar coating this. They need to find a way to move the ball. They struggled on offense back in November against them for the first three quarters. I’ve been harping that they need touchdowns and not field goals but the way this offense has moved the ball and the Rams have played defense lately, a field goal might be a huge win for the Cardinals offense. They will clearly need multiple scores though. The Rams have outscored their last two opponents 76-0.
They are going to do running back by committee but it will be a shame if they don’t go back to Kerwynn Williams on the ground again. He may not see the success he did against the Kansas City Chiefs but they won’t know unless they give him the opportunity.
Cardinals defense – don’t let Shaun Hill get hot and contain running back Tre Mason. Easier said than done but the fact is they’ve put up points the past two weeks. The Cardinals didn’t get to see Hill the first time around, so things could be different Thursday night.
The Cardinals say they aren’t looking ahead to the Seattle Seahawks in week 16. Go out and prove it. Don’t let the Rams push you around. Create a running game that will open things up for Stanton. If you win, you clinch a playoff spot.
Odds:
St. Louis -4.5
Moneyline: Arizona +201, St. Louis -225
O/U: 40.5
Prediction:
Arizona 19 St. Louis 17