Arizona Cardinals vs St. Louis Rams Point Spread Picks

A pair of strong defensive teams clash in the NFC West -- and one weak offense. Arizona has a terrific defense, #5 in the NFL in yards allowed and #10 in points. Arizona is 5-2 UNDER the total on field turf. This is a tough situational spot for the Cardinals, their second straght divisional road game and their fourth road game in five weeks. They are on a 2-4 spread run and run into a hard-hitting St. Louis defense. The Rams are #11 in the NFL in points allowed, #13 in yards, with a strong pass rush that can get after the QB. That will be a plus here as Arizona just lost RB Chris Johnson, a huge part of their improved offense. The Rams get up for these divisional games, already winning at Arizona as a big dog, and are 7-1-1 ATS at home against a team with a winning road record. St. Louis has a conservative, ball control offense on a 6-1 run UNDER the total, plus 34-16 UNDER in December. And when these rivals meet the dog is 6-2 ATS and the UNDER is 5-2 on this field. Back St. Louis and the UNDER.

The Arizona Cardinals have looked scary good thus far, opening the season at 3-0, and have scored 126 points, which is one point shy of the 2013 record-breaking Denver Broncos start. The problem is that they accomplished that against teams that are a combined 1-8, and that have allowed 382 points combined or a ridculous 42.4 points per game. That is actually a higher average than the Arizona 42 ppg scored, so based on that Arizona's offense has been average - as crazy as that sounds. The Rams have held them to 13 ppg in the last three meetings. Arizona has been strong defensively, and allowed 18.8 ppg a season ago, and even fewer so far this season. Points are going to be tough to come by on both sides in this one. Arizona owns a 27-13-2 mark to the UNDER after passing for over 250 yards in their previous game in their last 42. These teams have also played to an 8-3 mark to the UNDER in their last 11 meetings in the desert. Play this one to stay UNDER.

The Cardinals started the season with just one loss in their first 10 games. Unfortunately they have dropped two of their last three, scoring an average of just 12.7 points per game. In their last four games, Arizona has scored just four touchdowns. The Cards have also dropped two straight on the road. Now they take to the road against a team that is playing lights-out defense with back-to-back shutout wins. The injuries are catching up with Arizona as Drew Stanton has struggled lately, top rusher Andre Ellington is now out, and the defense has missed key components. Shaun Hill has put up six touchdowns on 62% completions in his last four starts and on the season, and the Rams have averaged 26 points per game. Take the Rams to win and cover. Also take the UNDER here. St. Louis has found a defensive formula that is working right now. They have allowed 10 or fewer points in four of their last six games. Meanwhile, Arizona has allowed 20 or fewer in 11 of 13 games this season. Under Bruce Arians, the Cardinals are 12-4 UNDER as an underdog. And get this: Since the 2008 season, the Rams are 21-5-1 to the UNDER in December including 10-1 UNDER since the arrival of Jeff Fisher. Lay the points and take the UNDER.

The Arizona Cardinals at 7-5 have moved onto the wildcard bubble. They need a win to stay in the hunt vs. the visiting St. Louis Rams. The Cardinals' offense is vastly improved over a year ago when they finished their last 12 games scoring as much as 20 points just one time. This season the Cards have produced 20 or more in 10 of 12 games, including each of their last eight. Arizona has been even better at home where they have reached 20 points in all six games, averaging 27.2 points per game here. The Rams have scored 38 and 41 in two of their last three, and went for 27 on this Arizona team early in the season, so they can certainly contribute enough offense here to push this total over the top. St. Louis has been coming back after a poor offensive showing, as they are 7-0 to the OVER after scoring 14 points or less in their previous game. Arizona has played each of their last six OVER in conference play. This total is easily attainable, so play on the OVER.