If there were ever the time for the Arizona Cardinals to end their losing streak against the Los Angeles Rams, it would be on Sunday. The Cardinals have lost seven games in a row to them and have not yet beaten them since Sean McVay took over in 2017 as head coach.
There isn’t a better time to do it than this weekend for two reasons.
One, Los Angeles will be missing a number of key players both on offense and defense. They will not have starting quarterback Jared Goff, their leading rusher in Darrell Henderson, their leading receiver in Cooper Kupp, their best offensive lineman in Andrew Whitworth and one of their defensive captains in Michael Brockers.
Rookie running back Cam Aker, second on the team in rushing, also has an uncertain status for the game.
The other reason why is simply the stakes are high for the Cardinals. If they win, they get into the postseason.
The Rams’ dominance in the series is a turnaround from the years leading to it.
From 2006-2017, the Cardinals won 15 of 22 matchups. Thanks to the Rams’ current streak, they lead the all-time series 43-38-2. Whoever wins on Sunday will take the lead at the Rams’ home stadium. The all-time series is tied 21-21 when the Rams are at home.
The Rams have scored at least 31 points in each of their last seven wins against Arizona but the Cardinals have scored 52 in the last two games, scoring 24 and then 28.
They are trending in the right direction.
They need to get the monkey off their back.
They did so against the Seattle Seahawks earlier this year, beating them at home for the first time since 2012. It would be fitting to do it in Week 17 to get into the postseason.
[listicle id=447695]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and