Monday Night Football Odds & Picks – Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals

It’s not that the Los Angeles Rams were expected to coast to the NFC West title this season. But the strongest opposition was going to come from the San Francisco 49ers. Well, that has not been the case, as the Arizona Cardinals have risen up, not just to take command in the division, but the #1 seed in the playoff pecking order as well.

Now sporting the best record in the league, the Cards will try to solidify their position as they take on the Rams on Monday Night Football at 8:15 PM ET.

OnlineSportsBet customers can see the game on ESPN, and they can also continue to wager after the kickoff as they click the “Live Betting” tab at the top of the interface. These teams met previously, back on October 3rd. The Cardinals came away with a 37-20 victory. And obviously, a lot has happened since then.

This would appear to be the must-win game for Sean McVay and his team. They trail the Cardinals in the division by two full games, with a record of 8-4 SU and 5-7 ATS. Arizona, meanwhile, has a 10-2 record and they have been pretty strong against the number, with a 9-3 spread record. However, we should take note that they are only 2-3 ATS at home and have suffered both of their straight-up defeats at State Farm Stadium, where this game will be played.

The Cards have had to deal with some injury adversity in the respect that Kyler Murray has been dealing with a bad ankle. However, they are resilient enough to have won two out of three games with Colt McCoy at quarterback. There is no argument, of course, that Murray brings new dimensions to the table; namely his ability to run with the football, as evidenced by the 16 rushing touchdowns he has scored since the beginning of the 2020 season, among other things.

But he also delivers the long ball very well. Murray’s completion percentage when he goes beyond 20yards past the line of scrimmage is better than anyone.

In the Monday Night Football odds that have been placed on this game by the folks at OnlineSportsBet , the Cardinals are favored by a field goal:

Arizona Cardinals -3

Los Angeles Rams +3

Over 51 points -110

Under 51 points -110

What kind of makes this game problematic for the Rams is that the Cardinals are going to run the ball. That may have been a departure from what Kliff Kingsbury did when he was the head coach at Texas Tech, but he is doing it here in the NFL nonetheless. The only team that runs the ball a higher percentage of the time is Philadelphia. So even if they are not great at it (and they average only four yards a carry), the Rams have to consistently account for it.

So maybe they can, with their defensive front, anchored by the All-Pro Aaron Donald, but at the same time they have to play with two high safeties if they want to prevent the kind of explosive pass plays Murray can produce with receivers like Christian Kirk and DeAndre Hopkins, as well as any potential scampers by Murray. So this really stretches them out.

Kingsbury, who is listed at +300 to win the coach of the year at OnlineSportsBet , has really put a complete team together. That includes the defensive side, where the Cards have allowed just 18.6 points per game and only 33% success to opponents on third down. Their potential weakness is stopping the run, as their scheme has surrendered 4.7 yards per carry. But the Rams’ top running back, Darrell Henderson, is on the COVID list, which means that Sony Michel will have to shoulder more of the load.

This is a tough matchup for the Rams’ defense, which is not nearly as good as it was last year. They have to defend the whole field, and although we don’t see the floodgates wide open, there’s enough in the Arizona attack to exploit this. So we like the home team.

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