Arizona vs St. Louis Odds & Prediction
The Arizona Cardinals are the biggest surprise in the NFL so far this year. Arizona enters this game at 4-0 after pulling off a big comeback victory over Miami last weekend.
Division foe St. Louis will host them this Thursday night on NFL Network.
Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams
Edward Jones Stadium
Thursday October 4, 8:20 PM EST on NFL Network
NFL Betting Odds from Bovada
Moneyline: Off
NFL Spread: Cardinals -1 (-110) vs. Rams +1 (-110)
Over/Under: 38.5
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The Rams have beaten both Washington and Seattle at home already this year. Expect a close battle here.
Arizona
The Cardinals have won three close games and sandwiched in a blowout over the Philadelphia Eagles.
This is a team that finished last season on a roll, but many still expected them to struggle this season. John Skelton started the year as the team’s signal caller, but Kevin Kolb took over at the end of the team’s first game when Skelton was injured.
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Kolb has seven touchdowns and two interceptions so far this year, and the team has to be happy with his decision-making overall. Beanie Wells will be out for several weeks, so it will be Ryan Williams starting at running back.
The Cardinals have one of the best receivers in the league in Larry Fitzgerald, but it was Andre Roberts who was the hero last weekend. Arizona’s receivers are a pretty dynamic bunch.
The Cardinals defense is extremely underrated. Patrick Peterson is one of the best play makers in the league at cornerback, and the front seven is loaded with talent.
This has been a bend but don’t break defense so far this year. Arizona is 17th in total yards allowed per game, but the team has allowed only 15.2 points per game.
The front seven excels at pressuring the opposing quarterback.
St. Louis
The Rams had a season to forget a year ago, but Jeff Fisher already has the team on the right track this season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
After an impressive rookie season, Sam Bradford had a year to forget in his sophomore season. Bradford looks much better this year, and it is probably because of the improve talent around him.
Bradford was never a bad quarterback, but he didn’t have much to work with last year.
Danny Amendola is healthy this year, and he already has 33 receptions in just four games. Steven Jackson and Darryl Richardson are both doing a solid job in the backfield.
The Rams are still only averaging 19.8 points per game, so the offense must improve.
The St. Louis defense has done a nice job forcing turnovers this year. This is a group that was much-maligned last season, but there are some solid leaders on this side of the ball.
James Laurinaitis is one of the best linebackers in the game, and Chris Long is really improving as a pass rusher. Cortland Finnegan was a huge offseason pickup, and he has given this secondary a major boost.
Both of these defenses are ahead of the offenses right now. Field goals will probably be the rule of thumb rather than touchdowns.
This game looks like a low scoring battle to me.
Free NFL Pick: Under 38.5
