Cardinals vs. Rams Prediction, Odds, Spread, Injuries, Trends for NFL Week 18

Iain MacMillan | 5 Hours Ago

The Rams are home favorites against the Cardinals in NFL Week 18 action. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Many people think the Los Angeles Rams are the most complete team in the NFL, but they've now suffered two shocking losses, one to the Carolina Panthers and the most recent came to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.

Sean McVay has stated that he plans on playing all starters in Week 18, and if things break their way, the Rams will jump up to the No. 5 seed, which would give them the most favorable matchup in the opening round, hitting the road to take on the NFC South winner.

Before they think about that, they have to take care of business against the Arizona Cardinals. Let's take a look at the odds for this NFC West matchup.

Rams vs. Cardinals Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

• Cardinals +7.5 (-115)
• Rams -7.5 (-105)

Moneyline

• Cardinals +280
• Rams -350

Total

• OVER 48.5 (-115)
• UNDER 48.5 (-105)

Cardinals vs. Rams How to Watch

• Date: Sunday, January 4
• Game Time: 4:25 pm ET
• Venue: SoFi Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): FOX
• Cardinals Record: 3-13
• Rams Record: 11-5

Cardinals vs. Rams Betting Trends

• Cardinals are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games
• The OVER is 8-4 in the Cardinals' last 12 games
• Cardinals are 4-13-1 ATS in their last 18 games vs. Rams
• Cardinals are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against NFC West opponents
• Rams are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games
• The OVER is 5-0 in the Rams' last five games

Cardinals vs. Rams Injury Reports

Cardinals Injury Report

• Walter Nolen III, DT - IR
• Kei'Trel Clark, CB - IR
• Evan Brown, G - Questionable
• Budda Baker, S - Questionable
• Marvin Harrison Jr., WR - Questionable

Rams Injury Report

• Josh Wallace, CB - Questionable
• Kevin Dotson, G - Questionable
• Blake Corum, RB - Questionable
• Alaric Jackson, OT - Questionable
• Davante Adams, WR - Questionable

Cardinals vs. Rams Key Player to Watch

• Matthew Stafford, QB - Los Angeles Rams

Matthew Stafford had a firm grasp on his first career NFL MVP award, but a disastrous performance on Monday Night Football dropped his odds significantly. Now, Drake Maye enters the final week as the -340 MVP favorite. Stafford will need to not only dice up the Cardinals, but will also need Maye to also stumble against the Dolphins, if he wants to get back in the mix.

Cardinals vs. Rams Prediction and Pick

In this week's edition of the Road to 272 Bets, I broke down why I'm taking the points with the Cardinals:

If the 49ers beat the Seahawks on Saturday, the Rams will be locked into the No. 6 seed, no matter what happens on Sunday. That alone makes the Cardinals the side to back if you're going to bet on this game before the weekend. The line will drop if the likes of Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua see limited, if any, action in Week 18.

The Cardinals have been terrible this season, but they still have enough talent to cover a 9.5-point spread if the Rams play their backups. The Cardinals rank 24th in net yards per play this season at -0.5.

Pick: Cardinals +7.5 (-115) via FanDuel

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