|
The Rams-Cardinals primetime showdown will be the third meeting
between the teams, with the road team having won the previous
two.
And while the Rams prevailed in a Monday night meeting at
Arizona in December, it was the Cardinals who pronounced
themselves playoff-worthy with a Week 4 victory at Los Angeles
in early October.
Defeats in four of their last five games cost the Cardinals an
NFC West title and left them with something to prove Monday. But
that was also the case in Week 4, when they arrived in Los
Angeles on the heels of three consecutive wins to start the
season amid questions of whether their hot start was
sustainable.
The Cardinals not only delivered a resounding 37-20 victory over
the Rams that day, behind two touchdown passes from Kyler Murray
and 120 yards rushing from Chase Edmonds, but they went on to
open the season 7-0.
Having gone 4-6 since that undefeated start, the Cardinals are
once again having to prove that their time has arrived.
"It's 0-0, and no one remembers the regular season," Cardinals
coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "It's what you do here on out, and
it's a real opportunity for us to take the next step and see how
good we can be."
The game will not only be Murray's playoff debut, but it will be
the Cardinals' first appearance in the playoffs since 2015-16,
when they defeated the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round
but were blown out by the Carolina Panthers in the NFC
Championship Game.
Murray averaged 270.5 yards passing per game this season with 24
TDs and 10 interceptions. He had 383 yards passing in Week 14
against the Rams but did not throw a TD pass that day and was
intercepted twice in a 30-23 Los Angeles victory.
"I like that we had two games to see how we played them, how
they played us and what looked good and didn't," Kingsbury said.
"So we can build off that."
The Rams had a hot start of their own, despite their early loss
to the Cardinals, opening with a 7-1 record. Then came a
midseason slumber when they took consecutive defeats to a trio
of playoff teams, the Tennessee Titans, the San Francisco 49ers
and the Packers.
The Rams were just 2-5 against playoff teams this season.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford averaged 309.6 yards passing per
game with 22 TDs and four interceptions over the first eight
games in a Rams uniform, but those stats fell to 267.7 yards
passing with 19 TDs and 13 interceptions over the final nine
games as Los Angeles went 5-4.
Stafford did help wide receiver Cooper Kupp to a Rams-record
1,947 receiving yards, while Kupp also pulled off the wide
receiver triple crown, leading the NFL in receptions (145), TDs
(16) and receiving yards.
After their midseason swoon, the Rams pulled together a
five-game winning streak that included their victory at Arizona,
but questions started anew after their 27-24 defeat in overtime
to the 49ers to close out the season. The Rams blew a 17-0,
first-half lead.
Los Angeles' offensive and defensive lines were dominated by the
49ers in the season finale, especially in the second half as San
Francisco rallied.
"Whether we're playing at home, playing on the road, things are
going our way, things aren't going our way, we continue to
battle," said Stafford, who has not won a playoff game in three
chances. "That's what it takes to win games in the playoffs,
there's no question. Right now, it's testing us ... but we're a
resilient group and we'll be ready to go."
With Rams safety Jordan Fuller out for the playoffs with an
ankle injury and fellow safety Taylor Rapp in concussion
protocol, the Rams signed Eric Weddle out of retirement
Wednesday. Linebacker Leonard Floyd (back) is expected to play
but was listed "out" for Thursday's walkthrough.
Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt (shoulder), who hasn't played
since Week 7, returned to practice Thursday but was extremely
limited. Edmonds (ribs, toe) was limited but said he was
prepared to play, while fellow running back James Conner (ribs)
did not practice and will be a game-time decision.
--Field Level Media
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
