TNF Betting Preview: Surging Rams Take On Cardinals

The St. Louis Rams have picked the perfect time to start a surge as we are coming down the stretch to the end of the season. Tonight on Thursday Night Football they will be taking on the team that sits atop the NFC West in Arizona Cardinals.

The line opened with the Rams as the three-point favorites. The line as since moved all the way to -4.5 with St. Louis as favorites. Meanwhile, the total opened at 4o and shifted to 40.5 to attract bettors.

The Rams are on fire at the moment, looking for their third straight shutout and fifth straight cover against the Cardinals. The Rams are on the cusp of the playoffs but need some more wins to secure a spot as they sit at 6-7.

The Rams defense is playing predictably well as it has all season behind defensive end Robert Quinn who has recorded 10.5 sacks this season. St. Louis’ four players on the defensive front is arguably the best in the NFL. It is the Rams quarterback Shaun Hill that is leading to the team’s hot streak.

Hill is 3-1 as a starter and showed that he could get the job done under pressure last week where he should surprising comfort rolling out of the pocket and extending plays, even hitting Kenny Britt on a 41-yard pass. Since taking over the starting position Hill is 29-44 on passing, has five touchdowns, one of those TDs come on the ground and has threw zero interceptions.

Arizona has all but secured itself a spot in the playoffs with their 10-3 record. They have also been kind to bettors covering the spread nine times this season.

The Cardinals halted a two-game losing streak last week by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 17-14. The Cardinals were finally able to establish the run game on the back of Kerwynn Williams who ran for 100 yards on 19 carries. Arizona will be a true force to reckon with if they can consistently run against the Rams.

On the defensive side of the field, Arizona does not play well except for in the red zone. Despite ranking 17th in total defense and allowing 5.6 yards per play, they rank third in points allowed. Opponents have only been able to score on the Cardinals 43 percent of the time in the red zone.  

The Cardinals and Rams met back in early November with Arizona winning 31-14. This was before Hill took over as quarterback for the Rams, however.

The Cardinals have covered the spread the last three times they have played St. Louis. The Cards’ are also 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 road games.

The 40.5 total is likely to go under if the trends are to be believed. The Under has been is 9-4 in the Rams and Cardinals last 13 meetings. Over Arizona’s last 13 games the under has been hit nine times thanks to their phenomenal red-zone defense.

The game starts at 8:25 p.m. ET. you can watch it on the NFL Network.