Arizona has the best record in the NFL but faces an upset-minded Rams team.
Many people predicted that the team with the NFL's best record would come from the loaded NFC West, but they probably didn't have the Arizona Cardinals in mind. Arizona is 7-1 and winners of four straight with its only loss coming to the Denver Broncos on the road. This week, the Cardinals face the St. Louis Rams, a team which has beaten the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in the last three weeks.
Arizona has been getting things done with a terrific defense despite the year-long suspension of linebacker Daryl Washington and a torn ACL for Darnell Dockett. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles runs a hyper-aggressive 3-4 defense, calling for more blitzes than any other team. Perhaps most impressively, Arizona is stuffing opponent's run game, ranking third with 79.3 rushing yards allowed per game.
St. Louis sits at 3-5 and likely out of the playoff race, but still remains dangerous. The Rams had only one sack before playing the Seahawks three weeks ago. Since, Jeff Fisher's team has racked up 13 sacks including eight against the 49ers in its 13-10 win last Sunday. Offensively, Austin Davis has stabilized the quarterback position for the Rams after Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill went down with injuries. Davis has completed 64.2 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and seven picks.
Over at ESPN, the 11 experts who made picks all sided with the Cardinals to improve to 8-1. The USA Today analysts are also in agreement, with all seven believing in Arizona. The eight men at CBS Sports provide us with another clean sweep for Bruce Arians' group, although five of them think the Rams will cover the 7.5-point spread.
Here at SB Nation, the boys didn't have the guts to roll with an upset, picking the Cardinals to hold strong at home. The OddsShark computer also predicts Arizona to come out on top.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1xfMI2l
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