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The NFL regular season is a wrap and the 2022 NFL Playoffs are set to get underway. The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams will face off this coming week in the Wild Card round, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday.
The Cardinals had a stellar season thanks to head coach Kliff Kingsbury, QB Kyler Murray and some brilliant offseason moves to put talent on the roster. They were the final undefeated team standing well into the season, but a flurry of injuries eventually caught up to them and saw them go on a bit of a losing streak in the middle of the season. They broke the streak, but haven’t looked nearly as convincing since and have stumbled into the playoffs, losing four of their last five games dating back to Week 14, finishing with a 11-6 record. The offense is scoring just 21.2 ppg over the final five games, well off their season average of 26.4 points per game.
The Rams offense has been just as good as advertised for much of the season and has powered the team to a 12-5 record. QB Matthew Stafford has come over from Detroit and helped lead the Rams to the 7th ranked offense in the NFL, scoring over 27 points per game. WR Cooper Kupp is less than 40 yards away from the 2,000-yard receiving mark and has 16 total touchdowns, so Arizona will need to pressure Stafford and lockdown Kupp to have any shot.
This is the third meeting between the two teams this season, with the road team winning each of the previous two. Arizona won the Week 4 matchup 37-20 while LA came out on top in Week 14 winning 30-23.
We break down our rapid-reaction pick on the over/under for Cardinals vs. Rams in the Wild Card round of the 2022 NFL playoffs. Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Opening point spread: Rams -4.5
Opening point total: 50.5
Opening moneyline: Rams -200, Cardinals +170
Early O/U pick: Over
Despite Arizona’s offense slowing down in recent weeks, both of these previous matchups eclipsed the 50.5 total, though one was with more relative ease than the other. Expect that again this time.
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